Trapped Within the Kingdom
by Trapped
Summary: Destiny is nothing more than an idea. But it's when you believe in that idea that it becomes real. Remember that. Never look back. And never forget the reason you are here. For you are the chosen ones. The Protectors of the Kingdoms.
1. New York Girls

Chapter 1: *New York Girls* **Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any fits of uncontrollable laughter, falling over, wanting to kill someone (especially me), talking to inanimate  
objects, or undeserved suspense that may occurring while you read this  
fanfic. You've been warned. Read at your own risk.**  
  
"Sashi!"  
"What!?"  
"What are you doing!?"  
"Nothing!"  
"If I come down there and find you playing that Kingdom Hearts game, you're in for it!" Sashi could hear her mother's feet walking briskly across the upstairs floor towards the staircase.  
"Oh shit. Becky, quick, out the back door."  
"You haven't saved yet!"  
"Becky! My mom is going to kill me!"  
"Right, that would be the most important thing at the moment. Come on over tonight. We'll finish up our summer project and then we'll sneak in an hour or two of Kingdom Hearts. Okay?" Becky added as she ran over to the door awaiting Sashi's answer.  
"Yeah, okay. Here, take this." Sashi pulled out her memory card and passed it along with the CD-ROM to Becky. "My mom would kill me even more if she found that down here."  
"Tay. See you later Sashi." Becky yelled back as she opened the door, ran outside, hopped the fence, and bolted down the block to her house. As soon as Becky was out of sight, Sashi grabbed a book off the bookcase, and plopped down on the sofa. Just as she had opened the book to a random page, her mom walked in. She gave a sly smile as she looked at her daughter. Sashi believed that she had finally beaten her in the war of trickery when she said, "There you are, my little master of trickery. All right, where is it?"  
Looking very innocent and trying to sound very angelic, Sashi replied, "Where's what?"  
"You know what." Her mother countered her. She could always tell when Sashi was lying.  
"No, I really don't."  
"Kingdom Hearts. And I'll bet fifty bucks Becky is here as well. Now, where did you hide her?" Sashi's mom started to look around the room.  
"Becky isn't coming over till tonight to pick me up mom. Are you feeling all right? Here, let me feel your forehead." She walked over to her mom and put the back of her hand lightly against her mom's forehead.  
"Sashi!"  
"What!?"  
"Do you really expect me to believe that you've been down here reading this whole time?"  
"Well, I have" Sine you took my game away, I've had nothing better to do."  
"She's behind the bookcase, isn't she?" Her mom said, giving the slightest hint of a smile.  
"Mom, Becky is not here. She never was here. Well, today at least. And I've been down here, bored as hell, reading." Sashi held her breath and crossed her fingers in hopes that her mom would believe her.  
"Okay, you've managed to pull this off today." Sashi gave a sigh of relief. "But next time, I won't call out your name."  
Just then, a small boy's voice came from upstairs. "Mom, the noodles are bubbling over!"  
"Okay Todd, we're coming up now." She put her arm around Sashi and walked upstairs. Upstairs, Sashi's little brother, Todd, was standing over the oven watching the noodles bubble over. Next to him was a small, oval- shaped, wooden table. On it, there was were four places set. On the floor was the fifth place. And next to her bowls laid Lee, Sashi's faithful German Shepherd. "Sashi, feed the dog please."  
"Sure mom. Come on girl. Dinner time." Lee looked up at Sashi and began to wag her tail.  
"Todd, why are there four plates out?" Sashi asked as she placed Lee's bowl back on the floor.  
"I thought daddy might be back tonight. I'll put it away." Todd heaved a heavy sigh as he picked up the extra plate and began moving towards the cupboard. Just as he was pulling the step stool toward the cabinet, a voice interrupted the silence.  
"Now, Toddy boy, if you put that plate away, what am I supposed to eat on?" Sashi and Todd ran right over to their dad and knocked him down. They had missed him so much. He had been away on business in Dublin, where he'd been for the last three weeks.  
"We missed you daddy."  
"I missed you guys too. Hello Melody."  
"Hello Brad. Come on, dinner's getting cold." Sashi and Todd got off their dad and went to the table. Brad went over to his wife and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Then he whispered something in her ear, making her giggle.  
'God, my life is good.' Sashi thought to herself. Her parents sat down and they began to eat.  
"So, dad, how was Dublin?" Sashi asked attentively.  
"Amazing."  
"Are you going to have to go back?" Both Sashi and Todd looked at their father with wide eyes.  
"Sometime in the near future, yes."  
"Sashi and her brother looked very disappointed and depressed at the answer the had received. "Oh."  
"But, I told them I'd only come back if..."  
"If?"  
"If... I get to bring my family with me." Todd went bright-eyed and Sashi was speechless.  
"Really?"  
"Yep, in two months we'll all be in Ireland. As long as it's okay with your mother that is."  
"Oh, please mom, can't we go!?" Sashi put on a great, big smile.  
"Please mom, I don't want daddy to leave again." Todd said, going over the his dad and sitting on his lap.  
"Okay, okay. We can go..."  
"Yes!" Todd yelled with glee, hugging his father tightly.  
"Only..."  
"I know there'd be an 'only'." Sashi said, putting her head down on her hand.  
"Only, if you guys behave really good and you start off the new school year really well."  
"But school's so far away."  
"Not as far away as you think, Sash." Her dad said, spooning a bunch of noodles for Todd.  
"Yeah, it's already the end of July."  
"Don't remind me." Sashi sighed. The door bell rang. "That's Becky. I'll see you guys later." Sashi called out as she ran over to the sink with her plate, and then ran over to the stairs.  
"Hey, Sashi, as soon as you get home, this dog needs to be walked."  
"Okay dad!' The door slammed and she was gone.  
--~*~--  
"Hey Becky, have you seen my keys?"  
"Umm, I think I saw them on top of the fridge."  
"Thanks."  
"No prob, bro."  
"Where's Luke going?"  
"I think he's going to pick up his friend at the airport."  
Becky and Sashi had been working on their summer project for about an hour. Becky's mom then walked in.  
"Okay girls, you've worked long enough. You can finish up tomorrow. Go do what you want now."  
"Yes! Thanks mom!" They put their project under the table of the living room and quickly turned on the PS2.  
"Okay, where were we?"  
"We were in the Olympus Coliseum. We were just going to fight the boss and seal the world."  
"Oh, that's the good part."  
"Oh, look who is it. It's your big sister and her best friend. Tag, you're it." Becky's mom came over to them and placed a small baby in each of the girls" arms. These were Becky's little brother and sister, Nick and Ruby.  
"Oh, it's my favorite pair of twins in the world." Sashi said as she cooed and cuddled the little baby.  
"You like them so much, Sashi, you can have them."  
"Oh, come Becky. You know you love them. How could anyone not love these little faces? Isn't that right Nick?" Sashi smiled at Nick, then they started the game.  
About forty minutes had passed by. They defeated the boss and sealed the world. Now, they were in Halloween Town.  
"Save point! Save point!" Sashi began yelling excitedly pointing at the tv.  
"I can see it Sashi. I have beaten the game three times already. I know where the save points are.  
"You guys are still at this game?" Luke walked in with his keys in one hand and nothing in the other.  
"Good, you're home." Becky said as she ran over to him and placed Ruby in his empty arm. "Your turn."  
"Oh that's harsh."  
"I know, But I've had them since you left."  
"Wait, what time is it?" Sashi asked suddenly looking very worried.  
"It's eight forty-five."  
"Oh shit!"  
"What's the matter?"  
Sashi dropped everything and bolted towards the door. "I was supposed to be home thirty minutes ago!" She yelled back as she ran down to the front yard. She sprinted down the block and up to her door. 'Okay, if I just get Lee, they'll think I was walking the dog this whole time.' Sashi thought to herself. All of a sudden her thoughts were interrupted by a small boy's voice.  
"Mommy's gonna kill you Sashi."  
"Todd, shh, be quiet! You wanna get me caught?"  
"Too late my dear." Sashi looked up and saw her dad standing over her. "You're lucking I like you."  
"What?"  
"I won't tell your mother."  
"Thank you dad! Todd, why are you holding me sleeping bag?"  
"Becky called and wanted to know if you wanted to sleep over in order to save you from a sudden and painful death for being late."  
"I would suggest taking your stuff and running for your life Sash." Brad gave his daughter her stuff and pointed toward the sidewalk.  
"Sashi! You'd better not let me catch you!"  
Sashi took one look at her mother's shadow and took of down the street.  
--~*~--  
"They're pissers, aren't they?"  
"You can say that again, Ki Ki."  
Becky's mother and father watched the two girls sleep in wonder. They had never seen two better friends.  
"God, they're so much alike. You'd think they we're sisters. Twins even." Ki Ki pulled the blanket over her daughter and took the PS2 controller out of Sashi's hand.  
"Same likes. Same dislikes. Same smile. Practically the same personality. Hell, they even got the same scar, on the same arm, in the same place."  
"Don't you find that a bit scary, Andy?"  
"Very. I guess these girls were just meant to find each other."  
"Yeah, I'm telling you, fate designed these girls for each other. There's no doubt about that. It was fate."  
--~*~--  
Fate. Was it really the thing the brought Sashi and Becky together? Or was it just chance? Just two girls finding each other out of nowhere? No. Fate was the only way the explain why Sashi and Becky were for each other. Everyone knew that.  
But what about destiny? They knew that their destinies had something to do with each other; but what was it. No one could know for sure. The only thing that was sure was that their destinies were intertwined. What it was, had to be found. And, a little hint here and there never hurt either. Even if it came from the darkness...  
Sashi had been sleeping for a while now. But something was happening. She began to fall into a deeper sleep. Deeper and deeper she went, until the voice from the darkness.  
"Sashi." It was a cold voice. One that shot a shiver up her spine. It was a low and dark voice. One that was drenched in the venom of evil. It was a hidden voice. One that could only belong to the cloaked figure that was walking toward her.  
"Wh-who are you? Wha-what do you-what do you want?" Sashi found herself stuttering in fear.  
"How is it that you know so little about what you really are? How is it that you can't see what your destiny really is? What possibilities it holds?"  
"I-I don't know what you're talking about."  
"Of course you don't. You know so little about your true being. So little. How is it that you can be one of the true Protectors? There is so much to learn and yet you know so little."  
Sashi stood there paralyzed in fright. She didn't know what to do. And what was a Protector anyway?  
"I don't understand."  
"It seems as though destiny had really screwed up this time."  
"I may not know a lot, but I do know that destiny is never wrong. It never makes mistakes. And I also know that you are a very scary person, and I still don't know who you are."  
"So little. How could it possibly be true?"  
With that, Sashi slipped out of the darkness. However, as she slipped out, Becky slipped in. Deeper and deeper she fell, until the voice from the darkness came once again.  
"Becky." Becky looked around for the voice. But all she found was the darkness. Then, the cloaked figure revealed itself.  
Becky couldn't move. She was too scared. All that came out of her mouth was a small "What-what are you doing here?"  
"You know even less than your friend. How is it that you were chosen for this destiny?"  
"What destiny?"  
"I was right. So little. You know nothing of who you are. Who you always were destined to be. Who you could become. How is it true?"  
"I have no idea what you're talking about."  
"A Protector. How is it that you and your dull-witted friend became destined to be the Protectors of the Kingdoms? It doesn't make sense. You know so little and yet you have won this destiny. It's impossible."  
Again, the figure disappeared. But instead of Becky slipping out of the darkness, Sashi slipped back in. Now, both girls stood in an endless realm of nothingness. They looked at each other blankly. They waited. Waited for something to happen. Anything. And then, the voice came back one last time.  
"So, you think that destiny can never be wrong!? Well, we'll have to see about that!"  
"What do you want from us!?" Sashi retorted, stepping in front of Becky to protect her from whatever was about to happen.  
"Two little girls destined to be leaders. Destined to be Protectors." The voice gave a tiny evil laugh.  
"We're not little!"  
"Yeah, Sashi's sixteen and I'm fifteen and a half!"  
"So little. You two won't make it through one week. But, it will be fun to watch you try."  
"Try what?" The girls began to cringe back into fear.  
"Try to fulfill your destiny. But how could you? You know so little about the kingdoms. The light. The darkness. You know so little about who you really are. Who you have always been destined to be. Who you can become."  
"You said that already!"  
  
The cloaked figure once again disappeared. But the voice remained. The girls could hear it chuckling evilly.  
"Protectors of the Kingdoms, welcome! Welcome to your destiny!" 


	2. One of Many Meetings

Chapter 2: *One of Many Meetings*  
  
*Some characters were made up by me, while others belong to SquareSoft in  
the game Kingdom Hearts.*  
  
"Pluto! Slow down boy!"  
"Come on Pluto! Ease up a bit!"  
"Stop! Cease! Desist!"  
  
Sora, Goofy, and Donald chased Pluto up and down every street of Traverse Town. He had sensed something had happened and he wasn't going to stop until he found out what.  
  
"Where'd he go!?" Goofy yelled, waving his arms up and down, as he looked up and down the alleyways they passed.  
"There he is!"  
  
Pluto had run down a particularly long and dark alley, the kind you wouldn't want to be trapped in if you has a choice. He knew he was getting closer. Pluto was just about to turn around and go back to Sora when he suddenly stopped and saw them, two girls lying down in the gutter. One was a blonde haired, green-eyed girl who was sitting up against the wall. The other was a red haired, blue-eyed girl who was lying with her head on the other girl's lap. Both the girls looked extremely beat up. Pluto walked over to the blond girl leaning up against the wall. He began to lick the girl's face as she stirred slightly and awoke in a half concouise state.  
"Lee, stop it." The girl half uttered in an irritated tone. She was so tired and so weak. Sashi tried to open her eyes, but failed. "I don't want to wake up yet." After a few moments she finally opened her eyes, but much to her surprize she saw that the dog who was nose to nose with her was not her Lee. "You're not Lee." She muttered in confusion.  
  
"Who do we have here?"  
  
Sashi passed out again as the questioning words faded into an echo within her mind.  
"Come on guys, let's get them some help." Sora said eyeing the girls with a worried look as he bent over and picked up Becky. Following Sora's example Goofy knelt down and picked up Sashi. Donald patted Pluto on the head to acknowledge his findings. --~*~--  
  
"My head hurts." Sashi muttered quietly bringing her hand to her forehead. She had finally woken up after hours of unconcousness.  
  
"It should hurt. You got quite a beating. And you've been out for three days."  
  
"Yea i guess.... AHHHH!!!!!!!!" Sashi screamed as she looked up to find characters from her favoirt PS2 game hovering over her.  
"What? What's the matter?" Sora asked, obviously perplexed by the expression on the girl's face.  
  
"You're...You're..." Sashi couldn't finish her sentence. She was way too freaked out. She turned to Becky and began to franticly poke her. "Becky. Becky, wake up."  
  
"What do you want? Oh my god, Sashi..." She opened her eyes and shock her head in disbelief.  
  
"Yeah?" Sashi answered still wide-eyed in shock.  
  
"Why are there Kingdom Hearts characters around us?" Becky sat up in confusion leaning backwards, away from the others.  
  
"I was kinda hoping you would know."  
  
"No clue. Quick, pinch me. Maybe I'm dreaming." Quickly Sashi leaned over and pinched Becky's arm. Hard. "Ow!!!!! Sashi that hurt!"  
  
" Sorry. Okay, now pinch me. Maybe I'm the one who's dreaming." Becky did the same to Sashi, and it hurt.  
  
"All right. So we're not dreaming. Sashi, what's going on?!" Becky complained turning to her friend even more confused then before.  
  
"I don't know." Sashi looked very concerned. "Maybe...Maybe we've gone crazy. And may, just maybe, we're imagining all this...."  
  
"Ummm... I hate to butt in, but, what the hell are you talking about?" Sora interupted, fixing them each with a blank stare. The girls however, just started at him as if he had three heads.  
  
"Hey, Sashi, look. It's Goofy and Donald. Over there. SEE SEE!!!"  
  
"Yeah Becky. I know. I see them." Sashi replied softly putting her hand on Becky's outstreched arm, lowering it back to her sides.  
  
"Hello." Donald said as he stuck out his hand to shake Becky's. She stared at his hand for a moment, then wearily extended her own, in offering.  
  
"Pleased to make your acquaintance." Goofy did the same and so did Sashi in mass confusion.  
  
"Hi! I'm Sora."  
  
"Come on Becky. We're leaving." Sashi got up, took Becky's hand, and dragged her friend out the door. Willingly, Becky followed.  
  
Both girls rushed out the door and turned down the street.  
  
"Sashi?"  
  
"Yeah Becky?"  
  
"Do you have any idea of where we're going?" Becky asked in a concerned tone, staring wide-eyed at every person they passed.  
  
"No. But, I'm open to any suggestions."  
  
Not meaning to, Sashi suddenly crashed into someone consequently knocking them both down.  
  
"Hey, watch where you're going!" The person on the ground yelled in aggitation.  
  
"Sorry. We're kinda in...a..hur...hurry." Sashi squeaked as she saw who she bumped into.  
  
"Are you okay? It looks like you just saw a Heartless."  
  
Sashi didn't answer. Becky stood there, openmouthed.  
  
"All right then. Good bye." The person turned away. "Foreigners."  
  
As soon as the figure was out of sight, Sashi spoke in awe.  
  
"Becky, did you see who that was?"  
  
"That was... That was..."  
  
"Yeah. That was the mean guard from Aladdin."  
  
Becky tugged on Sashi pajama shirt.  
  
"What?" Sashi turned around to see what Becky was so stunned about. "Oh dear. Am I seeing what I think I seeing and is that what you're seeing?"  
  
"Well, if you're seeing Jiminey Cricket from Pinochio talking to Sebastian from The Little Mermaid, then you're seeing what I'm seeing. Is that what you're seeing?"  
  
"I must be going crazy."  
  
"You and me both, Sash. You and me both."  
  
Sashi grabbed Becky and ducked down in a small alley. "Okay, what do we do?" she asked in a nervouse whisper.  
  
"You're asking me!? How should I know? You're the older one!"  
  
"Ohh, only by a few months..."  
  
"Hey Sora! Goofy! I found them!"  
  
The girls looked up and saw Donald Duck standing over them, with a large grin on his face.  
  
"AAHH!!" Sashi and Becky screamed together as they got up and ran. They didn't know where to but, they ran.  
  
"Quick! In here!" Becky yelled as they passed a small shop.  
  
As fast as they could, the girls opened the door, got in, and closed it.  
  
Inside, no one was there, save a man standing behind the counter. He turned to them and spoke.  
  
"Can I help you two?" He sounded very kind.  
  
"I hope so. We're looking for New York. Can you tell us how to get there?" Sashi asked.  
  
"I've never heard of a place called New York before. What world is it in?" He asked stroaking his grin with his index finger and thumb in thought.  
  
"What do you mean 'what world'."  
  
"Is it in Deep Jungle? Wonderland? Atlantica?"  
  
"North America. The United States of America to be exact."  
  
"Sorry kids. Never heard of any of those worlds."  
  
"They're not worlds. The United States of America is a country and North America is a continent."  
  
"I wish I could help."  
  
"All right. All right. You can. Where are we now?"  
  
"Traverse Town." he stated, obviously proud of himself.  
  
"Traverse Town?" Sashi and Becky exchanged panicked looks.  
  
"Yep. Best place to be now a days. Safest place for you girls to be on account of all these Heartless attacks. Bloody horrors. Terrorizing our worlds and stealing hearts. Take my advice girls. Stay here until everything has calmed down a bit. I wouldn't want to go traveling at a time like this. I'm sure your parents will understand. If I had children and they got lost during the Heartless rampage, I'd want them stay where ever they were. Safest thing to do. Here let me get ya something to drink. You look beat."  
  
The man directed them toward a small table, sat them down, and went into the back room.  
  
"Sashi, did you realize who that guy was?"  
  
"I wasn't really paying attention. Who was he?"  
  
"Cid. Remember, the guy they stole from the Final Fantasy series."  
  
Cid came back and placed two large jugs on the table. "Best in the house."  
  
Sashi and Becky took the jugs and slurped the liquid down, not caring that it was slightly tinted pink. It was actually really good. Tasted like raspberry-cranberry flavored sparkling water.  
  
"This is good. What is it?" Becky asked in between sips.  
  
"The best Moogle Wine in Traverse Town."  
  
"What kind of wine?"  
  
"Moogle Wine."  
  
Shocked as she was by the name of the wine, Sashi continued to drink all the same. Just then, someone walked in. It was Squall, or Leon, as she was called in this game. Sashi and Becky looked at each other in amazement. Sashi opened her mouth, but nothing came out. All she did was point at Leon and mouthed 'Squall'. Becky also pointed at him and mouthed 'Leon'.  
  
Becky clutched at Sashi's arm, drawing her close as too whisper something in her ear.  
"Sashi, it's him. He's here. My obsession is actually standing in front of me. The love of my video game life Leon slash Squall is HERE!!!!."  
  
"I'm aware. He's standing in front of me too. Where's Zell?" She wondered while carefully prying her compaingns fingers from her arm.  
  
"But it's Leon!"  
  
"Ah, Leon, I'll be right with you. Call if you need me girls."  
  
"Well, Cid's personality certainly has changed." Becky said.  
  
"You can say that again. Okay, now back to our original problem: How are we gonna get home? And where the hell are we?"  
  
"Sashi...."  
  
Sashi wasn't listening. "Maybe we're in some insane asylum made by Kingdom Hearts nuts."  
  
"Sashi!"  
"Maybe we're..."  
"SASHI!!!!!!!"  
"Yeah. What Becky?"  
  
"Maybe we are IN Kingdom Hearts. You know, everything seems so real."  
  
"Becky, are you out of your mind? Kingdom Hearts is a Play Station 2 game. It isn't a real place you can go to."  
  
"Yeah I know Sashi, but think about it. What about that scary cloaked guy? Maybe that wasn't a dream. Maybe that really happened. Oh, come on Sashi don't give me that look."  
  
"This place is getting to you Becky. Look around you. This isn't real. It can't be. I mean, five minutes ago we saw Jiminey Cricket and Sebastian having a conversation."  
  
"Got ya!" Sora yelled as he held on to Sashi and Becky's shoulders so they couldn't run off again. Donald and Goofy soon entered the shop following Sora. "Now, if I let go, will you two run away again?" Sora asked staring at the two startled girls.  
  
He let go.  
  
"Like hell." Sashi cried out and dragged Becky out of the shop just as before. "We gotta get out of here!"  
  
"But why?" Becky protested, stumbling as her friend pulled her along behind.  
  
"Hello! Earth to Becky! We are surrounded by Kingdom Hearts characters! Don't you find that a tad bit freaky?"  
  
"Yeah! But Sashi that's the cool part."  
  
"Hey! Guys, come back. You don't know how to get around Traverse Town!" Sashi turned around at the voice and saw Sora, Donald, and Goofy pursuing them again.  
  
"Sashi, come on stop! What else are we supposed to do? We're in Kingdom Hearts! We need help from people who actually come from this place." She protested trying to slow Sashi down.  
  
"Becky, do you realize what you're saying!?" Sashi asked in utter disbelief.  
  
"How else do you expect to explain where we are? What's happen to us? WE-ARE-IN-KINGDOM-HEARTS!!"  
  
"No!" Sashi protested and then broke down into tears.  
  
"Come on Sashi. Let's go back with them. Okay?"  
  
Sashi looked up and saw Becky smiling at her.  
  
"All right..." Sashi said after a moment "But only if they agree to help us."  
  
Sora walked over and knelt down next to the two girls. "We can do that. I promise. What do you guys want?"  
  
"We want to go home." Becky said, helping Sashi up.  
  
"Okay, no problem. Where do you two come from?"  
  
"Well... ummm... there's a whole long story you'll have to hear first."  
  
Sora raised his eyebrow in question at Becky. "How long?"  
  
--~*~--  
  
"How could you do such a stupid thing like bring them here!?"  
  
"Don't worry, they won't last a week. Trust me. These girls won't be able to take it."  
  
"That's what you said about that Sora boy. And you know what? He wound up defeating you in the end!"  
  
"These girls are different! They are from a world with no magic. They'll be shocked by the people they'll meet."  
  
"Nevertheless, they were chosen to be the Protectors of the Kingdoms. They'll pull through one way or another! Especially since they have joined up with Sora and his dull-witted friends. We need to get rid of them!"  
  
"They could help us you know."  
  
"How, may I ask?"  
  
"If we can turn them. You did it with that boy. Twice. They shouldn't be much different."  
  
"And if we can't turn them? Did you think of such things or were you too busy being an idiot?"  
  
"We can always just steal their hearts if they prove to be troublesome. Their hearts are just as good as their entire being."  
  
"Ah, I see. You may actually redeem yourself for your foolish and stupid mistake of bringing them here in the first place."  
  
"Thank you milady."  
  
"We'll need to get them here. Let's see... You're too valuable to spare (and too stupid) so I can't send you. Hummm..."  
  
"Send the boy. He's expendable. He also knows Sora. He could convince them into coming here like that." The man snapped his fingers.  
  
"True. Very true. Bring me the boy. He has a job to do."  
  
--~*~--  
  
"Wow! When you say long, you mean long."  
  
Sashi and Becky finally finished telling Sora, Goofy, and Donald about how they think they got there, and about the dream as well.  
  
"Question: What's a Protector of the Kingdoms?"  
  
"You mean you don't know?" Becky asked paniced.  
  
"Not a clue."  
  
Sashi banged her head against the table. "We're doomed. DOOMED!"  
  
"Calm down Sashi. Now, I know someone who might know what you're talking about." Sora explained. He hoped he would.  
  
"Who!?!?" Sashi asked in earnest as she lifted her head from the table and Becky began to listen again.  
  
"Merlin."  
  
"Merlin? The wizard guy, Merlin?"  
  
"Yeah. He knows a lot about this kinda stuff. Hopefully, he'll have even the smallest bit of information about these Protectors of the Kingdoms."  
  
"So, we find the Merlin guy, find out about these Protectors of the Kingdoms, and go home. We should be back in time for dinner." Becky began to feel relieved.  
  
"Not exactly." said Sora quietly, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck.  
  
"What do you mean not exactly?"  
  
"I don't know whether or not he can send you home directly."  
  
"Meaning..." Sashi asked.  
  
"We might have to do stuff or travel places before..."  
  
"Wait a minute! What stuff!? Travel where!?" Sashi yelled plainly annoyed at this.  
  
"I don't know. We'll have to go see Merlin first."  
  
"Fine." Sashi slammed her head back down on the table.  
  
"Can we at least get some food before we leave?" Becky asked hopefully.  
  
"Sure Becky." 


	3. Advice from Merlin

Chapter three: Advice from Merlin **Some characters I had made up for my fanfic and others belong to Disney  
and SquareSoft.**  
  
"How much longer?" Becky complained with a sigh. They had been walking to Merlin's for a good hour and a half now.  
"We're almost there. See, all we have to do is jump these stones and we're at his house."  
Merlin had a small cottage in the middle of a very small island. In fact, the only thing on the island was the cottage. It was well hidden from the outside world, too.  
"Well, he definitely doesn't have to worry about being robbed." Becky said as she jumped to one of the rocks in the water, trying her best not to fall in.  
"You can say that again. It would take a hundred blood hounds to track down this place." Sashi said over her shoulder as she jumped off the last stone and landed on the island. The little cottage looked dark and deserted. There was no sign of light, movement, or even life in or around it. Sashi looked at Sora, who was wearing a look of panic. "Sora? Why does it look like there's nobody here?" He was a bit surprised when he found her voice was not harsh and angry but soft and concerned.  
Sora didn't answer. He instead started walking towards the cottage at an alarming pace. Carefully he stepped inside and looked around. It was just like the outside of the cottage, dark and empty. 'He's not here. Great. What am I going to tell Sashi and Becky?' Sora thought to himself as he looked around at nothing.  
"Sora?" Sashi had walked into the cottage, followed by Becky, Goofy, and Donald. "Sora, it's all right. It's not your fault he isn't here. Do you know any other wizards?"  
"No. Merlin was the only one. Listen, I'm sorry guys." Sora said, turning his back to them.  
"Hey, Sora, it's not your fault. Okay?" Becky put her arm around his shoulders. "We don't have the best of luck, so that might not help either." Becky gave him a small smile and went back outside, where she sat down at the edge of the water. Sashi joined her and held her arm around her friend. Sora joined them. Goofy and Donald stood on either side of the three standing guard.  
They sat there for a long tome, not saying a single word. They didn't really think about much either. Random things like 'It's too quiet.', 'Maybe I should say something.', and 'I wonder what they're thinking?' would pop into mind occasionally, but nothing serious. As the time dragged on, Sashi and Becky began thinking more and more about the home they had left behind. Their thoughts gradually shifted to their families. Their moms most of all. The two girls couldn't even begin to imagine what their families were going though. Saying goodnight to your child one minute and then they're gone. How were they going to explain where they had been if they got home? That wasn't important at the moment. The focus was actually getting home. But, right now, it all seemed impossible. Without Merlin, there was no chance of them finding out how to get to their world. 'Damn that Merlin!' ran through the girls' heads every now and then, even though it couldn't help in the least bit.  
Just as they were about to abandon all hope, they heard a noise. The noise sounded like it had come from inside the cottage. But how? The cottage was empty.  
Sora, Sashi, and Becky ran up to the door and peered inside. To their amazement, they saw a small, carpet bag sitting in the middle of the floor. The real surprise however was what was next to the bag. It was Merlin. It seems he had finally returned from where ever he had been.  
"Oh, it's good to be home!" He said as he pulled out his magic wand.  
"Ow." Sora exclaimed. Becky had stepped back on his hand. Merlin turned around only to see three teenagers pecking through his door.  
"Well, who do we have here?"Merlin asked trying to peer through the gloom. "Sora? Sora, is that you?"  
"Hello Merlin." Sora stood up and and walked through the door way. Sashi and Becky followed closely behind.  
"Well, long time no see Sora my boy. And who are you're two friends?"  
"Well, this is Becky," Sora said pointing her out to Merlin. "and this one is Sashi."  
"Please to meet you both. How can I be of service?" Merlin pulled out his wand again and tapped it lightly on the carpet bag. As soon as he finished, the bag opened and all sorts of objects came flying out. Lamps, tables, chairs, even a huge bed.  
"Merlin we need help."  
"Oh." He answered while conducting objects into place.  
"We need to know how to get home." Sashi said, stepping forward.  
"Yeah, that and something about something called the Protectors of the Kingdoms."  
Merlin's expression went very serious. He scowled at the girls as his arms came down to his sides. "What did you say?"  
"We need to know how to get ho-"  
"No, no. After that."  
"The Protectors of the Kingdoms?" Becky added in stepping up next to Sashi.  
"How do you know about that?" Merlin fixed each of the girls with an intense stare that them feel slightly unsettled.  
"Know about what, boss?" Came a voice out of nowhere. Just as suddenly as he spoke a boy came out from behind a huge box by the wall. He had dirty blonde hair that was a mess and the most amazing gray eyes. He looked as though he was roughly about sixteen. He was wearing tan kacky pants, filled with rips and patches, and a black tee-shirt. Two chains hung from his waist. He was also wearing a pair of wearing brown gloves with crisscrossing raw-hid straps. These gloves went about half-way up to his elbow.  
"I wasn't talking to you imbecile. Girls, this is my idiotic apprentice, Dogan. I picked him up in Agrabah. Wanted to be a genie." Merlin explained, jerking his thumb towards the boy.  
"Hello. You are?" He smiled moving into the room.  
"Sashi."  
"Becky."  
"Dogan's the name. Magic's the game." Dogan went to lean on the table without realizing that the table didn't come out of the bag yet. Down he fell, landing on the wooden floor with a thump. "Ow."  
"I can see what Merlin meant by idiotic." Sashi whispered into Becky's ear as the boy hurried to get himself off the floor and back to his feet.  
"Yeah, but you know, he is kinda cute. In a clumsy sorta way." Becky whispered shyly looking all flushed as she began to giggle.  
At once Sashi suspected what was happening. She turned quickly to her friend and shaking Becky by her shoulders. "Becky, I forbid you to fall in like with this guy. Do you hear me? I forbid it!"  
"Calm down Sashi." Becky said still giggling. "Why not?"  
"Becky, he's a character in a Play Station 2 game!"  
"No."  
"What do you mean 'no'?" Sashi asked, becoming very big sisterly during all this.  
"He wasn't in Kingdom Hearts." Becky stated, still giggling.  
"Don't press your luck missy."  
Becky walked over to Dogan and helped him up. Then, they turned their attention to Merlin again.  
"Now that we're all introduced," Merlin sat down at his table that had just placed itself on the floor, "May I continue?" He gave a cold glance to Dogan.  
"Go on Merlin." Sashi joined him at the table. So did the rest of her group.  
"Since the beginning of our worlds, there had always been a prophesy. One of great power and importance. The prophesy says that one day, two children will be born into one of these worlds destined to be the Protectors of the Kingdoms. First, I will tell you about the Protectors of the Kingdoms. These Protectors are said to be given great powers. They'll be able to do magic far more advanced than any wizard, including me, or any fairy for that matter. The most amazing power they will have is the ability to restore a person's heart." Sashi and Becky sat staring blankly at him in confusion. "Okay, what that means is that if a person gets his/her heart stolen by a heartless, the Protectors are the only people, besides the princesses, who would be able to give that person their heart back and let them live again. The Protectors would use these powers to, of course, protect the worlds we live in. They would travel to every world, fighting for the people and different creatures. As well as magic, the Protectors would be armed with weapons. One Protector would possess two Lockblades and the other would possess the Keyhole." Merlin waved his wand and two long, wooden boxes appeared on the table. He waved it again, and the boxes opened. Once opened, Sashi and Becky sat gaping at three magnificent swords. "These blades were intrusted to me a long time ago. These two are the Lockblades and this one is the Keyhole. And yes, they do have something to do with your Keyblade, Sora."  
Without thinking, as if from instinct, Sashi reached forward and picked up the two Lockblades. She got up from the table and held them tight in her hands. Then, without knowing what she was doing, Sashi began to spin the blades, and do all sorts of tricks with them. Faster and faster she went. Suddenly she stopped and gazed at the blades.  
"Wow. Sashi, how did you do that?" Becky asked in awe.  
"I...I have no idea." Sashi came back to the table and placed the Lockblades in their box. Merlin looked at her in wonder.  
Finally, Sora broke the silence. "I have a question. How would you know who were the Protectors?"  
"Yes, I'm getting to that now. The prophesy says that the two children would be ones that no one would expect to become the Protectors of the Kingdoms. Also, there would be a distinct similarity between the two children. The hour they were born, the way they looked..."  
"A scar exact scar, on the same exact arm, in the exact same place?" Becky looked up at Sashi, a bit frightened.  
"Yes, that would definitely be a distinction. Why?"  
"No reason." Becky didn't want to tell Merlin about the scar she and Sashi had. She covered her arm with her hand and Sashi pulled her sleeve down. Merlin knew they weren't telling him something, but he didn't pursue it.  
"Okay. To continue, the two children would either be best friends or have never seen one another in their lives. The prophesy also says that at a certain age, or point in time, these children will begin to, well.... You know that feeling you get sometimes? The one where you go somewhere you've never been before but you feel like you know it. They would kinda get that feeling. They would remember how to do things they've never done before. Know how to use magic they've never heard of before. Know about certain things that have never been spoken of. Know how to use the blades when they've never picked up a sword before."  
"Cool."  
"Shut up Dogan!" Merlin commanded in a voice of warning and threatening glare.  
"Sorry boss." Dogan slipped back into his mesmerized silence.  
"Also, these children would..." Merlin continued to talk, but Sashi and Becky stopped listening. They were watching the blades. Gazing at their magnificence. It was all they could think about. The blades somehow put them under a trance. The girls wanted those blades. They didn't know why, but they wanted them all the same. Wanted them more than anything. Sashi and Becky needed those blades. Shire willpower was the only thing keeping them from grabbing the Lockblades and the Keyhole. But, their want and need was too strong. It overpowered their willpower.  
Becky stood up and took the Keyhole from its box. Sashi did the same with the Lockblades. They only stared at the blades for a few moments. Then, they began to twirl the blades, throw them up in the air and catch them, jab and strike things that weren't there. They kept going, faster and faster, until Sashi and Becky turned and began to fight each other. Harder and harder they swung the swords at each other, seeming as though they were trying to kill one another. All of a sudden, they stopped, and put the blades down at their sides. For the next minute, all the two teens did was stare at each other, breathing heavily. Sashi lifted one of the Lockblades up to her eyes to see it.  
"Merlin?" Sashi said, still staring at the blade.  
"Yes, Sashi."  
"Tell us more about these blades."  
--~*~--  
"Idiot! Fool! Imbecile! They are with Merlin now! Can you even conceive what you have done!"  
"How was supposed to know they would be smart enough to go to Merlin?" A shocked voice claimed in defense.  
"I told you they'd pull through somehow. Now, they have the Lockblades and the Keyhole!!"  
"They still won't be powerful enough."  
"You fool! They'll start to remember!"  
"Have the boy get the blades from them. If we have them, we'll be invincible. He should be able to do a small task like that. Ow!"  
"Next time, I'll throw something bigger at you! And next time, you won't be around long enough to say 'ow', I shall see to that. But, you are catching on to something. If we do get the Lockblades and the Keyhole, they'll be helpless." A cynical laugh followed.  
"The boy is here."  
"Good. Come to me."  
"You called milady." A new figure approached and gave a short bow.  
"I have a job for you."  
"Whatever it is, I shall do it."  
"Good. There are two girls who have just arrived in Traverse Town. They are with Merlin now. If they find out too much information, they will be able to defeat us. I need you to prevent that from happening."  
"How?" the young man asked with a concerned look.  
"Go to Traverse Town and find them. Bring them here. They mustn't know why you are bringing them here. Be nice. When they arrive here, I will take care of them personally."  
"How will I know who they are?"  
"They are teenaged girls. One is fifteen with red hair and blue eyes. She goes by the name Becky. The other is sixteen with blonde hair and green eyes. She goes by the name Sashi. They are both loudmouths and they won't blend in at all. They should stand out quite a bit. Oh, also, you'll find these girls with an old friend of yours."  
"Who?"  
"Sora. Oh, and he also has his two dull-witted friends with them. Don't let them distract you. Your targets are those girls. I need them. Bring them to me and you may have whatever you want."  
"It shall be done milady." said the boy, giving a short bow.  
"Good. Now, take the Keyblade I gave you and go to Traverse Town. Find these girls. Make sure they find their way to Kingdom Hearts." The woman's voice have a laugh the could turn a person to stone. She watched the boy with amusement as he turned and left the throne room. "This will be good."  
--~*~--  
"And that's all I know about the Lockblades and the Keyhole." Merlin finished up and turned to Dogan. "Dogan, bring me that book over there."  
"Okay boss." Dogan got up and walked toward the desk where the book was. It was a big, old book, tattered and torn. On the cover, there was a funny looking gold inscription. Dogan placed it carefully in front of Merlin.  
"What does it say Merlin?" Sora asked, leaning over to get a better look.  
"No one knows. But, I'm giving it to you two girls."  
"What!?"  
"Why!?" Becky screamed pounding her hands on the table her mouth left hanging open in shock.  
"Let's just call it a gut feeling. Here," Merlin waved his wand once and the book shrunk to be pocket size. "That should make things easier. Take it. Also, I'm giving Sashi the Lockblades and Becky the Keyhole."  
"What!?" Becky questioned in complete puzzlement.  
"Merlin, we don't deserve these. Besides, they're for the Protectors of the Kingdoms." Sashi tried to protest, pushing the book back across the table to Merlin. She then began to push away the Lockblades however, before she could touch them Merlin's voice began again.  
"Nonetheless, you'll need protection. Take them." Merlin sat with a self-satisfied smile playing upon his lips as Sashi and Becky took the blades without further protest. They were glad Merlin had given them the Lockblades and the Keyhole. Watching the girls the smile slowly faded leaving a look of serious calm where laughter had once been. "Now, about getting you girls home. I might know a way, but it will be dangerous."  
"Dangerous?" Becky gulped, giving Sashi a sidelong glance.  
"I don't care." Sashi looked from her friend back to Merlin's face. "What do we have to do?"  
"It will take you a while to get there. You'll have to learn how to fight and maybe kill." Merlin fixed his eyes intensely on the girls, as if to explain the seriousness of the matter.  
"Kill what?"  
"Heartless. Other monsters."  
"Ummm...Merlin?"  
"Yes Sashi."  
"Where are you sending us?"  
"There is a secret passage way that leads to an unknown world in..." Merlin took a deep breath. After a few moments he settled himself, lowering his voice into a flat, emotionless tone. "In Kingdom Hearts."  
"Kingdom Hearts! You mean the place where all the Heartless are and the darkness and all that crap!?" Becky yelled, plainly taken aback.  
"Yes, Becky. That's the place."  
"Okay, okay. Go back to the place about a secret passage to an unknown world." Sashi said, trying hard to calm Becky. Merlin gave the girls a look of compassion.  
"Somewhere near the door to Kingdom Hearts, there is a secret passage way. This passage way leads to an unknown world."  
"And you think that the unknown world is our home?" Sashi whispered in hope.  
"There's no other world it could be. It has to be the world you two come from."  
"You see Sashi, that doesn't sound too hard."  
"Well Becky, it's easier said than done. You see, the getting through the passage is easy, but figuring out how to open it is another story. See, it's kinda well...temperamental. It only opens when it gets what it wants. And the thing is, there's no way of knowing what it wants."  
"Wait, wait. The passage can want?" Sashi asked utterly confused.  
"As weird as it sounds, yes it can. Things are very different in your world, aren't they?"  
"You can say that again."  
"A whole lot different."  
"Could you tell us about it? As long as it's all right with you boss?" Dogan asked, glancing at Merlin, for an okay. Merlin nodded.  
"Sure Dogan. We'll tell you about our world. Well to start, there's no magic in our world, at least the kind here. People don't carry around blades either." Sashi started.  
"How do they protect themselves then?" Sora asked.  
"Yeah, from Heartless and other monster. How do they do it?" Dogan added in.  
"We don't have Heartless in our world. And the only kind of monsters we have are other people."  
"What kind of people?"  
"Evil people. The kind of people who enjoy killing, and kidnapping, and raping.."  
"What's raping?"  
"Dogan, you don't wanna know." Sashi said.  
"And we don't wanna tell you." Becky said.  
--~*~--  
"Hey guys."  
"Hi Sora." Becky and Sashi had been out side sitting next to the water. The sun had finally set and the stars were becoming clearer.  
"You guys all right?" Sora sat next to Sashi.  
"We miss it. That's all."  
"Your home?"  
"Yeah."  
"I'd miss it too."  
"Mind if I join you?" Dogan said, sitting down next to Becky.  
"Hi Dogan. Did you really want to be a genie?" Becky asked.  
"Well, ummmm... At one point I did, yeah. But, once I met Merlin, I know I wanted to be a wizard. I'm surprised he let me become his apprentice."  
"Why would you say a thing like that?" Sora asked.  
"I'm no the best person to have around." Dogan sighed as he threw a rock into the water. "Also, I'm kinda annoying at times."  
"You can't be all that bad. I have three siblings. Trust me I know annoying." Becky smiled, nudging him with her shoulder.  
He didn't answer. He just stared at the ripples he has made in the water. Just then, Merlin came out to speak to them. "Are you ready?"  
"Yes."  
"Yes."  
"Yes."  
"Good. You'll stay the night and leave first thing in the morning."  
"Okay. Come on Becky. Let's get some sleep." Sashi stood up, holding her hand out to Becky.  
"Wait a minute girls. So far, I've given you three things. My advice. The Lockblades and the Keyhole. And the book. I'd like to give you one more thing to help you on your journey."  
"Merlin, you've given us too much as it is. We can't accept anything else from you."  
"Shh. One last thing. I want Dogan to accompany you."  
"Dogan!?" Becky shouted, shocked.  
"Boss! Why?"  
"Dogan my boy, this will be good for you. It will let you test the powers you have gained so far. It will let you explore and learn new things. And when Sashi and Becky are home safely, there will always be an apprenticeship waiting here for you." Merlin smiled at the teenage boy. Dogan knew he had to go.  
"Okay boss. I'll protect them." He gave Merlin a look of reassurance. "I promise."  
"That's my boy. Be safe."  
The four teens went inside and into their rooms. Donald and Goofy were already fast asleep.  
"Dogan?"  
"Yeah Sashi?" Dogan replied while unrolling a blanket to sleep on.  
"I have a question, now that you're coming with us."  
"Sure." He sat down awaiting her question.  
Sora and Becky came to listen.  
"What kind of weapon to you carry, being a wizard-in-training and all?"  
"A crossbow of course."  
"Of course." 


	4. Riku's Introduction

Chapter four: Riku's Introduction **All old characters belong to Disney and SquareSoft. I wonder where the  
other ones came from then. Oh yeah, they belong to me!**  
  
"Sashi. Sashi."  
  
"M...mom?"  
  
"Sashi?"  
  
"Mom, is that you?"  
  
"Sashi, sweetie, it's me. Mom."  
  
"Mom. How?--How are you here?"  
  
"Sashi, it is you."  
  
"Mom?"  
  
"Sashi, where are you?"  
  
"I'm lost. I can't get home."  
  
"Why did you leave?"  
  
"I was taken. I want to come home. Mom, I want to come home."  
  
"When are you coming home?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Promise me you'll come home Sashi."  
  
"I promise mom."  
  
"Good girl. I'll see you when you come home, okay?"  
  
"Okay."  
  
"I love you Sashi."  
  
"I love you too mom."  
  
"Bye."  
  
"No, don't go mom. Mom? Mom!? Don't leave me! MOM!!!"  
  
"Sashi! Sashi! Wake up!" Sashi opened her eyes and sat up with a jolt. Her eyes darted around the small room franticly, eargerly searching for her way home. To her dismay she saw Donald and Goofy standing over her, not her mother.  
  
"You were dreaming." Goofy said.  
  
"Dreaming? It was just a dream. It felt so real." Sashi took one more quick glance around the room, reluctantly she laided her head back onto her pillow.  
  
"You saw Melody, didn't you?" Becky asked as she sat up on her bed.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"What did she say?" Becky got up and walked over to Sashi's bed. She sat down gently as not to sit on her freind's feet, as she turned to look into her eyes.  
  
"She asked me where I was. I told her I was lost."  
  
Becky watched Sashi for a moment. "Did she say anything else?"  
  
Sashi didn't look up. "She made me promise that I'd come home. And, she told me that she loved me. Then she left." Sashi replied in a hollow voice. She stared at the ground with a distant look in her eye and a tear slowly rolling down her cheek.  
  
"How'd she look?"  
  
"Okay I guess. Better than I expected."  
  
"Come on guys." Sora said, walking into the room. He fell silent as his eyes fell on  
  
Sashi. "Let's get going."  
  
"Sora?"  
  
"Yeah Goofy."  
  
"Don't ya think we should get the girls some new duds?"  
  
"You're right. We'll have to go to Traverse Town before we leave."  
  
"Why are we going to Traverse Town? I thought we were starting for Kingdom Hearts right away." Becky asked, listening to their conversation for the first time.  
  
"You two need some new clothes before we leave for good."  
  
"What's wrong with the clothes we got on now?" Sashi asked clearly offended.  
  
"Sashi, you're wearing pajamas. Very nice pajamas, but still, they're pajamas." Sashi had forgotten the she was still wearing the pajamas she had fallen asleep in that night. She was still wearing a pair of blue, stretchy shorts, a long, gray tee-shirt with a picture of a palm tree, water, and the word 'Florida' on it, a pair of yellow toe-socks with cows on them, and fuzzy, blue slippers. Becky was wearing a pair of green fuzzy pants with frogs decorating them, a matching spaghetti-strape shirt, plain white ankle socks, and red slippers with a girl devil on them. Their hair was a mess too. Becky had hers up in two low, messy ponytails. Sashi had hers in two braids with strands of hair sticking out all over them. Still, they didn't see the problem. They didn't want to go shopping, they just wanted to get home.  
  
"So-"  
  
"Becky, here, people normally don't walk around in pajamas. Actually, people never walk around in pajamas."  
  
"What about when they sleep?" Sashi asked.  
  
"Well, yeah, people do wear pajamas when they sleep, but not in public."  
  
"Screw the public!" Sashi protested.  
  
"Sashi, you and Becky are going to get some new clothes if it's the last thing I do."  
  
"Oh yeah, how you gonna do that?"  
  
"Like this." Dogan said, picking Becky up and throwing her over his shoulder.  
  
Sashi began backing away form the boys, with a look of horor on her face. "Sora, don't you darrreee!" It was to late for threats. Sora had lifted Sashi up over his shoulder as well.  
  
"Merlin, thank you for all the advice. Hope to see you soon. Bye." Sora walked out the door with Sashi kicking and screaming.  
  
"See ya boss. Oh, and don't worry, I'll be back to finish my apprenticeship." Dogan walked out too with Becky hanging over his shoulder.  
  
"Merlin, thank you for helping the girls. See ya." Goofy said giving a deep, yet somewhat clumsy bow before he followed Dogan outside.  
  
"Good-bye Merlin. Thanks." Donald left.  
  
Merlin stood at his door for a while watching the group leave with a look of amusment on his face. He had never see a group so odd as this. A duck who was the king's wizard, a dog who was the king's loyal knight, a Keyblade master, a wizard-in-training, and two girls from an unknown world.  
  
"Good luck!" Merlin yelled as Goofy jumped the last stone. "Fate." Merlin whispered to the water, a small smile spreadign across his face as he watched the girls get carried away. "Fate broght these girls here for a purpose. They are the two the prophesy speaks of. They are the Protectores of the Kingdoms."  
--~*~--  
"Okay girls, down you go." Sora put Sashi back on the ground as did Dogan. "Well, there's the shop, go on in and we'll wait out here."  
  
"I think not. We're not going in there by ourselves!" Becky demanded, giving the boys a threathening glare.  
  
"Fine, Donald and Goofy will go with you."  
  
"We will?"  
  
"Yes Donald, you will."  
  
"Oh, phooey." It seemed Donald had no other choice. So, Donald and Goofy led the girls into the shop.  
  
As soon as they got inside, a woman walked up to them. "Can I help you?"  
  
"Yeah, these two girls need some new duds."  
  
"Goofy, we've got it from here." Sashi said. "Hi. We need something we can travel in."  
  
"Yeah, something that'll blend in too."  
  
"Okay, follow me. We'll see what we can find."  
  
Meanwhile, Sora and Dogan were waiting outside.  
  
"So that's a Keyblade."  
  
"Yep. Best thing that's ever happened to me. Let's see your crossbow."  
  
Dogan pulled out a large crossbow.  
  
"Wow. It's amazing."  
  
"I know. It was made by Hercules."  
  
"No kidding." Sora mused gentaly fingering a design inbedded in the crossbow's handle. Sora stared at it mysitfied as the red dragon seemed to come to life beneath his fingers. He even swore he could feel the warmth of the fire spilling from the dragon's open jaws.  
  
"Yeah. It was originally given to Merlin, but he gave it to me when I became his apprentice."  
  
"Co-" his words were cut off as Sora landed hard on the street. A cloaked figure was laying on the ground next to him, evidently in their collision both Sora and the other person had been knocked over. Sora go to his feet and held out his hand towards the hooded figure. "Here, I'm sorry."  
  
"No, no. It was my fault. Gotta start watching where I'm going." the cloaked figure brushed himself off, gave both boys a nod and began to walk away.  
  
"I know that voice." Sora whispered to himself as he watched the retreating backof the hooded figure.  
  
"What?" Dogan questioned, with a look of confusion as he stared at Sora's dazed expression.  
  
"I know that voice. But it couldn't be."  
  
"Be who? Sora?"  
  
"He was trapped."  
  
"Who was trapped?"  
  
Sora ran up to the cloaked figure and looked under the hood. "Riku!"  
  
"Sora? Sora, is that you?"  
  
"Riku. I knew I recognized your voice."  
  
"Funny running into you here when I've been looking for you for two years."  
  
"How did you escape Kingdom Hearts?"  
  
"It's a long story."  
  
"I don't care."  
  
"Hello." Dogan finally joined the conversation.  
  
"Oh, Riku, this is Dogan."  
  
"Hi." Dogan said, not having a clue to who this was at all.  
  
"Come on. Tell me how you escaped."  
  
"Okay, okay. But I'm warning you it's a long story." Sora nodded for him to continue. "Okay. So after I got locked in, there looked like there was no way out. After a while, I found someone, Ansem. He didn't see me, but I saw him. Being the evil guy that he is, of course he knew how to get out. So, I followed him. It took a long time, but I never gave up. Finally, he reached the spot where we could get out. He stood in front of a huge black wall. Then, he began to chant something in a weird language. He went on and on. Finally, something happened. The wall began to crack into two. And from the crack came a pale white light. The light kept getting wider and wider, until a person could fit through it. So, he walked into it. he disappeared as soon as he did. I had no other choice. I sure as hell wasn't staying in Kingdom Hearts any longer. I went through the crack as well. When I walked in, I don't really know what happened exactly. It was like... like walking into outer space, but you could breathe. You feel like you're weightless and shapeless. You feel like you're floating. Then you fall. You fall forever. Fall into nothing. I passed out while I was falling. When I woke up, I was practically blind. I didn't know where I was. Fortunately, someone found me. I had landed on some island, I was never told the name. The people that lived there helped me. After about three months, I regained by sight. I set out to find you afterwards. Two years. For two years I searched every world for you. And here I knock into someone in Traverse Town and it's you. Of all places, I find you here, in Traverse Town. I never would have guessed. If I had been watching where I was going, I would probably be spending the next three years looking for you."  
  
"Ansem never caught you following him?" Sora asked in awe.  
  
Riku paused for a moment. "How else would I have gotten out?"  
  
"Wow. It's great to see you again Riku. I thought you were gone forever."  
  
"No. So, where'd you pick up Doggy here?"  
  
"It's Dogan! And he didn't pick me up! My boss told me I should go with them to help them."  
  
"Oh yeah. Who's your boss?" Riku asked under raised eyebrows.  
  
"Merlin for your information."  
  
"Merlin?" He gave a short mocking laugh. "What are you, his bell hop?" Dogan was infuriated.  
  
"Bell hop!"  
  
"Dogan is Merlin's apprentice." Sora said, making sure Dogan didn't jump on Riku and kill him with the crossbow that was readily at hand.  
  
"Well, aren't you lucky?" Riku said giving Dogan one last mockign smile. "So Sora, what happened to those other two friends of yours. Trade them with Merlin for this guy?"  
  
"No. They're still here. They're inside that shop with the girls." Sora answered jerking his thumb in the direction of the shop.  
  
"What girls?" Riku asked, very suspiciously.  
  
"Oh right! I haven't told you about Sashi and Becky yet!"  
  
"Sashi? Becky? What have you been up to Sora?" He taunted, giving Sora a knowing look.  
  
"We're not up to anything. We're helping them." Dogan said abruptly, still fuming. "Dumbass." He grumbled under his breath.  
  
"While me, Donald, and Goofy were here with Pluto, we found two girls laying down unconscious in an alley. So, we helped them. Then, we brought them to Merlin. Now, we're helping the find their way home. But their home is an unknown world. They're amazing. They..." Sora stopped taking notice that Riku had stopped listening. He was now concentrating on something over Sora's shoulder. Concentrating very hard. Sora turned his head and saw that Sashi and Becky had come out of the shop. Both girls smiled at something Becky had said as they made their way back to the boys.  
  
Sora's jaw almost dropped. The girls looked beautiful in their new clothes. He had half expected them, or at least Sashi, to come back from the store still wearing their pyjamas. He had never thought the girls would look like this. Sashi was now wearing a silver-grey shirt that ended in the middle of her stomach. The three quarter sleeve shirt and the new cacky pants she wore completemented her fingure much better then the shorts and grey tee-shirt she wore before. A new pair of fingerless gloves also added to the attire. Her blonde hair was now tied back into two braides with a single strand that fell on her cheek. Becky's new clothes also stood in huge contrast with her old pyjamas. She was now wearing grey bell-bottom jeans and a forest green shirt in a cresant moon cut collar and sleeves. She also wore gloves. Except unlike Sashi's hers covered her whole hand. The girl's red hair was no longer a messy ponytail but was left down with the sides braided back into a small braid down her back. Sora noted both the girl's were beautiful when they smiled.  
  
Sora stole a glance at Dogan. His mouth was haning wide open as he eyes settled on the girls, especially Becky. Sora made no attempt to make Dogan close it. Next to the girls stood Donald and Goofy. They were in the same clothes of course. In their arms each of them carried a long black cloak. Sora assumed they were for the girls.  
  
"Well..." Becky said, smiling, pulling one of the black cloaks around her shoulders.  
  
"Will this satisfy the public?" Sashi said mockingly, waiting for the boys to point out yet more flaws.  
  
No comment. They just stood there, gazing. Bright eyed and too stunned to speak.  
  
"Um, um, ummmm... You... Her... You... Wow!"  
  
"That was so intelligent Dogan Really." Sashi said annoyed that the boys all of a sudden were all stunned. "Yeah, I'm gonna have to remember that one. Now, how many 'ums' were there?" Sashi walked over to Sora and gave him a tiny, yet forceful, slap on his cheek. "Snap out of it."  
  
Becky did the same to Dogan. "Come on, get yourself together."  
  
"So, these are the girls you're helping?" Riku asked, nudging Sora.  
  
"Yeah." Sora answered, still somewhat mystified.  
  
"Not bad Sora." Riku looked the girls over, not caring to let his eyes settle on their faces. "Not bad at all."  
  
"Asshole!" Sashi walked up to Riku and punched him right in the face. "Who the hell do you think you are!?" She lifted him up by the throat. "If I ever see you looking at me like that again, I'll..."  
  
"No, Sashi! It's okay. This is my friend. His name's Riku." Sora said, trying to stop Sashi from choking Riku to death. Sashi slowly lowered her fist and took her hand off Riku's neck. She then backed off in attempt to cool down. Angerly she pushed two loose strands of hair that hung in front of her face instead of in her braides roughly behind her ears. If glaces could kill, Riku would have dropped dead on the spot.  
  
"Sorry, she has anger management problems." Becky directed a warning glare towards Sashi " Yeah, she blows her top very easily. She really didn't mean to. She just can't control it sometimes." Becky now saw the huge black and blue that was forming around Riku's right eye. "Ow. She really is sorry. Aren't you Sashi?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah."  
  
"Sashi! Apologize! Now!" Becky folded her arms in front of her chest. She was not going to give in to Sashi's tempeper. And Sashi knew it. "Okay, okay, keep your pants on. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to punch you. That hard." Sashi mumbled the last part under her breath.  
  
"Sashi!"  
  
"Well I didn't."  
  
"Come on Riku. You all right?" Sora asked, helping Riku up from the ground where Sashi had dropped him.  
  
"Yeah. You sure can pack a punch girl." he said testing his jaw as to make sure nothing was broken.  
  
"The name's Sashi." She kept the death glare on him.  
  
"Well, mine's Riku. Nice to meet you." Riku said.  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"Hi. I'm Becky. Don't mind her. She's a little temperamental at the moment." With that she gave Sashi another warning glance.  
  
"That's okay. So, you are the girls from an unknown world."  
  
"How do you know about that?" Sashi asked, appalled that a stranger knew so much about them.  
  
"Sora told me." Riku answered.  
  
"Sora! Why did you do that!? We are supposed to be INCOGNITIO!!!"  
  
"You're what?"  
  
Becky walked over to him and gentley placed her hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Nevermind Dogan. It's not important."  
  
"YES IT IS BECKY!!!!"  
  
"It's alright Sashi. Don't worry. He can help us. Trust me, he won't betray us." Sora reassured her.  
  
"Fine. Just keep his eyes off me!"  
  
Once again Becky gave her friend an exasperated look.  
  
A huge grin spread across Riku's features. He was happy. 'So, this is what it's like to be around normal people again. It ain't bad.' He thought. He knew he couldn't do this though. He couldn't turn. He had to stay focused. 'The girls. Get the girls. That's your target. That's the only reason you're here.' He needed to get those girls. He needed to get them no matter what. Any way possible.  
--~*~--  
"He's found the girls, Milady. He's with them right now."  
  
"Good. Are they still in Traverse Town?"  
  
"Yes. But, I believe they are leaving soon."  
  
"Excellent. I told you using the boy would help."  
  
"Of course you did, milady. What do we do now?"  
  
"We wait, stupid."  
  
"What...what happens if..." a look of worry flashed across the figures eyes.  
  
"If what?" The voice came cold and hard. A threat.  
  
"If the boy turns?"  
  
"Then I'll have to kill you for suggesting it." The voice contained more vemom the before. The other figure blanched at the thought.  
  
"Oh... Milady? Do you think he will turn?"  
  
"I have taken care of him and trained him for the past two years. he won't betray me." A dark distant glaze clouded her eyes. Fury and heat radiated from her body. "He won't betray me. Again."  
  
"How could we know for sure?" the voice quavered under her gaze, but the curosity was too strong. "I mean, he did turn against you last time as soon as he caught up with those idiots he calls friends."  
  
"Shut up! He has a point. Riku's heart is a difficult one to control. It took me six months to turn him after he gave in to that idiot. And his twits who he calls friends do have a huge effect on him. And now they're with those girls. If they begin to remember, they'll be able to do anything. Or even worse, what if one of them gets to his heart. In a romantic way. I can't allow that to happen. But how do I prevent that from happening?'  
  
"Milady..."  
  
"Shut up! I'm trying to think."  
  
"But milady..."  
  
"I said be quiet!"  
  
"What about that henchman."  
  
"For the last time, shut... What about the henchman?"  
  
"Well, what if we can get her to follow Riku. Watch over him in case anything goes wrong."  
  
"Keep going. I like the way this is sounding."  
  
"And if something does go wrong, we send her into, well, eliminate the problem."  
  
"Riku."  
  
"She brings the girls to us along with the Lockblades and the Keyhole and the job will be done. We'll have their hearts and be unstoppable. And, you know she won't object to this assignment."  
  
"Yes. She's been obsessed with Riku ever since you brought him here. Even though I don't want to admit it, you've had an idea that just might work. Good boy."  
  
"Thank you milady."  
  
"Send for Akida."  
  
"At once Milady." What that he left the room.  
  
After about two minuets a shadow appeared in the doorway. "You sent for me Milady."  
  
"Ah, Akida, I have a job for you."  
  
"Yes, milady."  
  
"I have sent out Riku to bring me something very important. The Protectors of the Kingdoms, and their weapons as well. I have no doubt that he will not fail. But, the problem is they are traveling with Riku's old friends. They might have a bigger effect on him than I want. Big enough to turn him against me. Especially if he falls in love with one of those girls. I need you to prevent that."  
  
"As you wish, Milady."  
  
"Good. Follow Riku. Make sure he doesn't see you. Keep away from him. Control those... urges of yours. Don't make contact with him unless something goes wrong. Do you understand Akida?" She shot the girl a glare of warning, under which the girl's face flushed crimson. Urges she called them. Urges indeed.  
  
The girl regained her composure. "Something like what Milady? What could go wrong?"  
  
"If they discover what he is doing. If they attempt to kill him. If he turns. If he falls in love with one of those girls." Fire flashed in Akida's eyes. She was willing to do what she had too. She was ready to kill.  
  
The cold eyes settled on the girl again. They seemed to be measuring her worth, sizing her soul. "Be aware Akida, that you might have to kill him if things come to that."  
  
"Don't worry, Milady. I will do anything necessary to complete this assignment." Akida, still falshing fire, stormed out of the throne room and headed off to find Riku.  
--~*~--  
"I'm gonna kill you! I will kill you!"  
  
"Down Sashi! No! Please don't!" Sora pleaded, in terror as Sashi grabbed for Riku's neck again. He had only been with them for an hour and already Sashi had made three murder attempts. The sun was just setting over the horizen in Traverse Town. Everything around seemed quite and peaceful. Except for Sashi.  
  
"Sashi! Sashi!" Becky put her hand on Sashi's, gentley prying her fingers away from the boy's neck. She gave her friend a sincere look. "Let him go Sashi. He's not worth it. Let go."  
  
Sashi's eyes faltered as her hand retreated from Riku's neck. "That's the last time I let you live bastard." Then she turned around and began to walk. She kept on walking regardless of the numerous times Becky called her back.  
  
"What did you do now Riku?" Becky asked, irritated.  
  
"I didn't do squat!"  
  
"Then why did Sashi attempt to murder you!? Again! You had to provoke her somehow."  
  
"Okay, I was just-"  
  
"Stop. I don't wanna hear anymore. Stay away from her Riku. If you don't next time, I'll let her finish killing you." With one last glare Becky took off running after Sashi.  
"Sashi! Sashi, wait up! Stop!"  
  
"Riku?"  
  
"Yeah, Sora."  
  
"You've changed."  
  
"Everybody changes Sora. Besides, I've been away for two years. I'm obviously not going to be the same person you saw two years ago. You've changed too you know. We can't stay the same forever Sora. It's just not how life works."  
  
Sora heaved a heavy sigh. "I guess you're right. Come on guys. We've gotta go catch the girls."  
  
"We wouldn't have to go catch them if Captain Raging Hormones over here had kept away from Sashi." Dogan muttered.  
  
"Oh come on Doggy." Riku smiled at him. "It's not that far." He then bolted off in the direction Sashi did.  
  
"It's Dogan." Dogan said under his breath as he began off in the same derection. Becky had caught up with Sashi. Sashi looked like she was ready to blow any second. She breathing was heavy, her face revealed a dark scowl.  
  
"He made a pass at Becky."  
  
"Yeah, I kinda figured that."  
  
"A character from a Play Station 2 game made a pass at me!" Becky stepped in front of her friend causing her to stop. "Calm down okay? You look like you're gonna burst."  
  
"I... he... that bastard... ohh!!!"  
  
"You really need to work on you anger management skills Sashi. Come on, we've gotta go back to Sora and the others."  
  
"Why?" Sashi complained in a whimper.  
  
"Because, they are the only way we are ever going to get home. Understand? Now, you've going to make peace with Riku, and we'll..." Becky realized her mistake instantly. It was too late to take the words back now.  
  
"What!? Make peace with that... that..."  
  
"Captain Raging Hormones?"  
  
"Yeah. Hello Dogan." Sashi said.  
  
Becky turned around and saw the gray-eyed boy. Sora came next, followed by Donald and Goofy. Riku came last.  
  
"Sashi, don't you have something to say?"  
  
Sashi have her an annoyed looked and turned to Riku. "Okay you, since we're going to be traveling together, I... ur... we've gotta make peace. Keep yourself and your sick fantasies away from me and I won't have to kill you. Deal?" Sashi stuck her hand out to Riku. He placed his on hers and shook.  
  
"Deal."  
  
Sashi took her hand away quickly. "Good." Next came a long, undisturbed silence. "Stop looking at me!! Can we go now!?"  
  
"Sure Sashi." Sora said.  
  
"Sora?"  
  
"Yeah Dogan?"  
  
"Question: Where are we going?"  
  
"Well, we're going... to.... um... I don't know."  
  
"What do you mean you don't know!? You have to know! You're like... you just gotta know!"  
  
While Sashi, Dogan, and Sora were yelling, Becky began to fell weird. She didn't know what was going on. Sashi suddenly began to fell it too. The others started to noticed and stared at them in confusion. They remained like that for a moment or two, until...  
  
"Destiny Islands!" They were now breathing hard and stumbling.  
  
"What?" The rest said, simultaneously.  
  
"We need... to go... to Destiny Islands first."  
  
"How do you know?" Donald asked, concerned.  
  
"I have no idea."  
  
"Me neither. All we know is that Destiny Islands has to be our first stop."  
"What happened? One minute you were yelling at us and the next you're acting all weird and knowing where we have to go next." Dogan asked.  
  
"How long were we like that?" Sashi asked.  
  
"About a minute or two."  
  
"Felt a lot longer than that. See, what happened was, we started to feel all..."  
  
"Jello-like." Becky finished.  
  
"Yeah. Then, we ended up on Destiny Islands."  
  
"We just looked around for, like, ten minutes or something."  
  
"Then came the weirdest part. We saw ourselves, including you guys. We were standing on the beach. Someone else was there too. Another girl." Sashi looked at Becky to continue.  
  
"Long red hair. Big blue eyes."  
  
"Were her hands behind her back!?" Both Sora and Riku asked as if their lives depended on the answer.  
  
"Yeah, I think so." Sashi answered, slightly freaked out.  
  
"Kairi." Sora whispered.  
  
"Yeah, well, we were talking to her. We couldn't hear ourselves..."  
  
"But we knew it was something important."  
  
"Yeah. So, we gotta go to Destiny Islands. I don't know why, but I feel like something's gonna happen there. Something to do with us. Something we have to be there for. Are ya with us?" Sashi stuck out her hand in midair. Becky placed her's on top of Sashi's. Then Goofy. Then Donald. Dogan. Sora. And finally, Riku.  
  
"To Destiny Islands!" Donald announced.  
  
"Wait, we can't go to Destiny Islands."  
  
"Why is that, Goofy?" Dogan asked.  
  
"The barriers are closed. We can't leave this world at all."  
  
"DOOMED!!!!!!!!!!" Sashi yelled, slamming her head down on Goofy's shoulder.  
  
"No good..." Becky then blurted out many unsuitable and unrational words no to be seen or heard by anyone.  
  
"Becky! Becky! Calm down! I can get us through the barriers."  
  
"You can? How Dogan?" Sashi said, picking up her head.  
  
"I'm not all beauty you know. I do have some useful tricks up my sleeve."  
  
Becky gave a tiny giggle and Sashi nudged her with her elbow. She stopped giggling.  
  
"Okay Doggy, tell us your sleeve trick." Riku said sarcastically.  
  
"It's Dogan." He said off to the side. "It's a real simple spell that'll leave a small opening in the barrier for a few minutes. Don't worry, it'll be long enough for us to cross."  
  
"Cool!" Donald said.  
  
"All right. Let's get going." Sora said, leading the way. He stopped and looked around in every direction in confusion. "Dogan, you better lead, you know where we're going."  
  
So, on they went. Seven travelers heading for who knows where. They walked for miles. Always heading east of Traverse Town. no one but Dogan knew where they were going. Or even why they were going to that specific place. Becky walked next to Dogan, while Sashi stayed as far away from Riku as possible. She walked with Donald and Goofy.  
  
No one spoke. They just kept walking with their trust in Dogan's hands. They all hoped Dogan knew what he was doing, including Dogan himself. He couldn't let them down. He had to try. He had never done this spell to transport more than one person before.  
  
Pretty soon, an hour went by. "Okay, this is it."  
  
"Finally. Thought we'd never get there Doggy."  
  
"Well Captain Raging Hormones, guess you thought wrong. All right, everyone stand back a bit."  
  
Everyone did. Dogan stood there, not moving a muscle. After a minute or so, Riku went to make a comment, but Sashi covered his mouth with her hand before he could. He didn't pursue his comment for Dogan and looked at Sashi. Without looking back at him, she snapped his head forward.  
  
It happened. The spell began.  
  
"Segelath. Benthemor. Rohoo. Mentenaroo." He kept repeating these four words, over and over again. "Segelath. Benthemor. Rohoo. Mentenaroo. Segelath! Benthemor! Rohoo! Mentenaroo!"  
  
***AN: Cool! That part gets cooler and cooler everytime I read it. So, I hope you guys (who are wise enough to read my fanfic, unlike others who will soon meet a painful end, ha ha!!!) like Trapped Within the Kingdom so far. Two things to aplogize for, one: Sorry it took so long! And for all those Riku-lovers, don't worry, he'll get better in a few chapters. See ya next chapter.*** 


	5. The First World

*The First World* Disclaimer: **Same old, same old. New characters I made up. The rest belong  
to SquareSoft and Disney.**  
Sashi stirred slightly as she felt a familiar form laying besides her. "Todd? Todd, get out of my bed. Go sleep with mom and dad." She muttered as she had done frequently adding the little shove as she always did before turning over to again fall deeply asleep. The form shoved back harder than it usually did. "Todd?" Sashi drowsily tried to remember the last time Todd had ever shoved back instead of crawling out of her bed but failed as her subconscious retreated and her brain became awake. She opened her eyes as quickly as she could manage it. She had remembered that Todd wasn't there. Jumping to her feet Sashi screamed, "Get away you asshole!" at the body who was curled up against hers tightly.  
"I didn't do it!" Riku yelled, sleep still in his voice.  
"You didn't do it! You!... ARG!!" Sashi stormed off muttering half- completely sentences of disgust and fury.  
Everyone glared at Riku. And he became painfully aware of it.  
"Oh come on. How was I supposed to know that I was sleeping right next to her?" Riku tried to keep his voice even and convincing but couldn't hide the smile that slipped.  
Sashi turned half-circle to glare back at Riku a few dozen feet off now down the beach. She thrust out her arm and screamed "Pervert!" at him accusingly still red with outrage. She almost stumbled in her wrath as she turned back around and continued walking off into the distance.  
"If it makes you feel any better, I'm sorry!" Riku shouted after her still amused with her reaction. Sora glanced sideways at Riku before getting up and running after Sashi.  
"Sashi, hold up a moment!" She heard his call but chose to ignore it.  
After two more calls and he didn't cease his running after her she turned to him fed up. "Go away Sora!"  
"Sashi! Sashi, stop. Just listen to me, okay?" Sora grabbed Sashi's arm and pulled her to a stop.  
On impulse, Sashi swung her free arm around in hopes oh dislodging the boy from his death grip on her arm. Sora jumped to the side to avoid her swing but ended up pulling her awkwardly so that she fell to her knees. "Stop it Sashi! You can't go around hitting people someone is eventually going to hit you back!"  
Sashi swallowed hard and allowed him to restrain her arm. She decided to let him continue.  
"Listen, Sashi, I'm sorry about Riku. I know he's... uh.... different, but he's really a good guy. I mean, Riku's spent some time in Kingdom Hearts. That place'll change a person, big time. You've gotta cut him a little slack. He's just trying to get used to being around actual people again. He's been missing for two years."  
"That's no excuse! I've been missing from my home for two weeks! He might be your friend and I can accept that but he can't go around acting like that!"  
Sora cut her off, "You can't go around punching people all the time."  
"That's something totally different! I have no idea where I am, no idea how I got here, and no idea how to get back home or even if I can get back home!"  
Sora smiled a small sad smile that lingered on his face as it did in his mind. "Are you two really so different?" He asked her with a voice to match that smile.  
Indignation lit her face. " Sora you don't understand! I wanna go home! I wanna see my little brother again. I wanna take my dog for a walk again. I just wanna go home. And he's not helping." Tears trickled slowly.  
"I know you want to go home. you just gotta put a little trust in me; and in Riku. Maybe all he wants to do is go home too; a different kind of home than you want but home all the same. Maybe home for him is more of a state of normality and balance than anything else. All I know is that he's having trouble finding his way back home, I don't know about you but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He really wouldn't try to hurt you Sashi. If you sat down and talked to him I know you'd like him, maybe see past it all to what I see about him." He pause with a smile penetrating his pensive expression. "Not everybody can control where they move when they're asleep you know. Hell, when I woke up I was practically sleeping on Dogan."  
Sashi managed to laugh a bit through her tears. "Yeah okay."  
"Good then, I don't wanna see anymore crying alright? It's depressing."  
She laughed.  
"Tell me about your family."  
"What?"  
Sora shrugged. "I don't know anything about them. And I thought that since we're gong to be together for a while and all, I might as well know something about your past. Tell me about them, Please."  
"Well, I've got a mom, a dad, a little brother, and a dog." She cast him an odd glance, as if to see if he was really interested or was just toying with her. His interest seemed genuine and she continued. "My little brother, Todd, he's only six but a handful. But, that's the greatest part about him, you never know what he's going to do next. My dog is a purebreed German Shepherd, her name's Lee. You couldn't ask for a better dog than she is. I've gone to three Dog Agility Trials with her, and she placed in all three, third, second, and second. We were going for first this year..." Sashi had to stop for a moment. She wiped her eyes, took and deep breath, before she continued. "My dad... I don't think I'd ever trade him in for anything. His name's Brad, he's a businessman, works for a big corporation that deals with foreign affairs. He's gotta travel a lot. He just recently came back from Dublin, Ireland. He plays baseball too, he's a pitcher; taught me how to pitch. I can throw anything now: Fastball, Curveball, Screwball, Change-up; just about any pitch you could ever think of. All of this because he taught me."  
Sora looked at her in utter confusion. He was glad he was telling him things but he couldn't follow everything that was said to him.  
"What?" Sashi asked taking note of his bewildered expression.  
"What's baseball?"  
Sashi looked shocked. "It's a game. I'll have to teach you some day."  
"Okay. Go on, what about your mom?"  
"My mom. I couldn't live without her. She says the same about me too. Her name's Melody and she's the most beautiful person, I think anyway. She's a chef and she works in the finest restaurant in town. She's the best there is. Her swordfish is to die for. I got to work with her sometimes, I acted as a waitress when the restaurant was in desperate need of one. They were going to give me a part time job there one weekends this year. I love being with my mom. She's what I miss most about home."  
"They sound great."  
"They are."  
"So, what are foreign affairs?" Sora asked.  
"Foreign affairs. Let's see... I'll explain in terms you'll understand. I live in a country called the United States of America; so, say the US is like Destiny Islands."  
"Okay. I'm with ya so far."  
"Well, my dad travels to different countries for his job. That would be like your dad traveling to Halloween Town one month and Wonderland the next for his job."  
"All right. Go on."  
"When my dad goes to other countries, he meets with the ambassador, who is a representative for the ruler of that country. So, it would be like meeting someone who would speak for, say, the Queen of Hearts or Jack the Pumpkin King. Get it so far?"  
"Yeah. Then what happens? Do they fight or something?"  
"Somebody's gunna fight? I wanna watch!" They heard Becky scream from down the beach.  
Sora looked perplexed, "How can she hear us if she's all the way over there?"  
Sashi just shrugged in response. "She's like that sometimes, just blurts out things without really thinking. We think she's physic sometimes, call it Super Becky Hearing."  
"So she can read minds or something?"  
"Don't know. She doesn't even know what it was she said most of the time. Watch this," Sashi cupped her hands around her mouth and called off down the beach, "Becky if you're going to listen to someone's conversation then listen carefully and get it right!"  
Sora laughed as a confused ,"Huh? What are you talking about?" came along the sand.  
"Anyway," Sashi said glad for some comic relief, "with the foreign affair things they don't fight at all. They discuss stuff instead."  
"What kind of stuff?"  
"Politics, money, land, and mostly what one can do for the other and visa-versa. My dad is real good at that. No one else is better at negotiating with foreign ambassadors than he is. He's probably the best there is. Best that company ever had. Or ever will have." Sashi explained.  
"Your dad sure has an amazing job." Sora said.  
"Yeah. Amazing." Sashi's eyes began to glaze over with tears that hadn't left.  
"Oh come on Sashi. Don't cry again. I promise I'll get you home, okay?"  
Sashi nodded her head slowly, trying not to let her tears overpower her; drown her.  
"Come here." Sora said opening his arms wide. Sashi leaned into him and laid her head into his shoulder wiping away the tears. Sora held her comfortingly.  
Her tears dampened his shirt. "I wanna go home. I don't want this destiny shit. I don't wanna learn how to fight and kill with blades." She swallowed back the hard, painful knot on her throat that her tears were bringing on before it dragged her under, " I don't wanna remember things that have never happened before. I..." Her sobs were cut off and forgotten when an all too familiar scream came down the beach; the scream had the potential to haunt her the rest of her life.  
"Becky!" Sashi screamed and threw herself down the beach.  
"Ahh!!! Sashi!!! Help!!!" The scream came again more desperate than the first.  
Sashi ran tearing up the sand towards the place she had left Becky. Her panic reached fever pitch when she found nothing. Nothing, nobody, was there. She stared blankly at the empty sand.  
Sora reached her side panting slightly from fear and anticipation.  
Sashi was overcome with her anxiety. "Becky!" Sashi looked around, but saw only beach and ocean. She listened, but heard nothing save wind and waves. She cast a glance at Sora who was searching desperately for his lost friends.  
Sashi turned and froze her calls mid-word. Her mouth dropped. Her eyes swallowed the black as her gaze kept casting farther and farther up it's body until she met the dead yellow of it's eyes. They were deep pits glowing from some evil and hate within, the jagged slashes endless; hollow; pulling you into the darkness; pulling a helpless victim into the very owner, the very nightmare.  
The dark creature itself. The shadow. The Heartless. The Darkside.  
Eye to eye with Sashi it stood, never breaking eye contact. Sashi kept herself locked into those eyes and quietly whispered a question to the boy standing beside her, "Sora, do you see any of them?"  
"Who?"  
"Our friends maybe?" She suggested as an answer to his pathetic question.  
"Yeah. They're all behind it."  
"I think now would be a good time for you to show us just how well that Keyblade of yours works." She whispered.  
"Right. Good time to also see those Lockblades in action, don't you think?" Sora suggested, keeping his eyes on the Darkside.  
"Okay. On the count of three." Sashi muttered with certain finality.  
She braced herself.  
"One." Sashi could feel Sora shift slightly towards the Keyblade.  
"Two." She sent her hands on their slow journey to her belt and felt the comfort when her fingers wrapped themselves securely around the hilts of the Lockblades pulse through her hands.  
She was ready for this.  
"Three!" Sashi broke eye-contact and pulled out the Lockblades from their sheathes. Sora took out the Keyblade and readied himself to fight.  
The other side of the Darkside rang out with the metallic sliding of the Keyhole from it's sheathe accompanied by the creaking of leather and the warm click of wood as Dogan pulled out the crossbow strapped across the breadth of his back.  
Donald and Goofy dove into the heat of battle without hesitation while Riku calmly revealed his own Keyblade and jumped in as well.  
Becky stood still.  
"Becky, what's the matter?" Sora yelled as he saw her starring at the Keyhole.  
"I can't remember how to use this!" she yelled back.  
"What do you mean you don't remember!?"  
"I mean I don't remember. It isn't working!"  
"Fine. Just stand back then!" Dogan yelled, only fearing the safety of his Becky.  
Becky hurried over to Sashi. The two girls just stood in silence. Watching. Sora battled against the right hand of the dark creature. Riku fought to destroy the left hand. Dogan fired bolt after bolt at the Darkside's chest. Donald and Goofy were holding off the tiny Heartless, mostly Shadows and Big Ones, that had surrounded them. The two girls never moved a muscle. They felt somewhat useless just standing there and watching their friends risk their lives. They needed to do something. But how? Without knowing how to use the Keyhole and Lockblades they couldn't do anything. They didn't know any magic; nothing at all. The more they stood there, they more worthless they felt. But what could they possibly do? Nothing. Two pathetic New York girls trapped inside a video game. The only thing was, this wasn't a game anymore. This was real. Real enough for one of their friends to die defending them because they had forgotten how to use their weapons. All of a sudden, the strangest thing happened. Sashi and Becky heard their fathers' voices in their heads. What they would do in this situation.  
'You can't give up. Go in there and try. Don't worry, we'll always be with you.'  
That small remembrance of their past did it. Sashi and Becky gripped their weapons in their hands tightly and...  
"CHARGE!!!"  
Becky helped Sora, while Sashi, ironically, helped Riku. With one hit of the three blades, the Heartless recoiled a bit. Again, it made eye- contact with Sashi. The next thing that happened was the weirdest. The Heartless spoke.  
"Jeshno harubbah?"  
"Did it just speak?" Sashi asked.  
"It just spoke." Becky answered.  
Still, Sashi was eye to eye with the giant shadow.  
"Namin yataus! Queska hotenna! Huttala manoroon draga!"  
"What is it saying?" Becky asked, in a whisper.  
"No idea." Sashi said.  
Now, Becky had made eye-contact with the Heartless.  
"We need to get to its neck. That's its most vulnerable spot." Sora whispered.  
"How do we do that, prey tell." Riku said.  
"Good question."  
Sashi and Becky were still looking into the shadow's eyes. They couldn't figure it out. Why wasn't it attacking them? Why was it just looking at them? Why was it speaking? Heartless don't speak. And why didn't the others look as confused as they did? Maybe they had heard a Heartless speak before. Maybe they understood it.  
"Do you guys understand it?"  
"Nope!" Donald said.  
"I have no idea why it's not trying o kill us." Dogan said.  
"No, no, no. I mean do you understand what it's saying?"  
"Saying?" Riku said, a tad bit concerned.  
"It's not saying anything." Dogan said.  
"Heartless don't speak." Sora said.  
"What are you talking about. It just spoke a second ago."  
"Yeah, in some funny language." Sashi countered.  
"Sashi! Heartless don't speak!"  
Sashi and Becky weren't listening anymore. They knew what they heard. The Heartless could speak. At least this one did. And yet again, the Heartless spoke to the two girls. It's tone was both confused and enraged.  
"Jeshno harubbah!?!?" Then, the Heartless did something very unexpected. It bent down and looked into the girls eyes at the same level. Its neck was stretched out toward them. A perfect strike for the others. Sora motioned the girls not to move, but they weren't paying attention. They were still keeping eye-contact with the Heartless. It looked deep into their eyes, concentrating on them.  
Sashi and Becky began to get that jello-like feeling again. Everything around them went silent. And all they could pay attention to was the Heartless' eyes. They could only hear each other breathing heavily. The girls felt sick. Their heads. Their stomachs were turning. Their muscles and bones were aching. But, they never broke eye-contact with the Heartless. This wasn't a battle of weapons and blood. It was a battle of inner strength and faith. They couldn't give into the shadow, no matter what happened. They couldn't let it have the satisfaction of controlling them. They had to be the controllers. No the controlled.  
The Heartless began to look worried. Then amazed.  
"Eta padtut abid."  
The girls' headaches went away. Their stomachs stopped churning. And they could now stand without fighting the pain.  
"Besqual laman bor teenatat. Kaydonah faidha destay."  
For some reason, Sashi and Becky knew they had heard these phrases before. They knew these words. They knew their meaning and yet they didn't. And for another stranger, they wanted to answer back. How can you answer something when you can't understand its language? Or did Sashi and Becky understand? Maybe they did. They just didn't know it. OR just didn't want to believe it. Either way, it was the strangest feeling.  
Again the monster recoiled. It then turned to Riku. "Capell zelnor oakna, duvel warso kelkama elset. Goroohak bajess, kaydonah faidha destay sabayna thaor."  
That was the last time the Heartless spoke. It's head was still outstretched toward Riku. It was still bent over. Sora took up his Keyblade. Sashi took up her Lockblades. Becky took up her Keyhole. Together, they charged at the dark creature. They struck it, hard. The neck. The shoulder. The empty space where a heart should lie. That was all it took. Three hits. Three wounds. And that was the end. That was the finish. The dark creature, the shadow, the Heartless was gone forever.  
--~*~--  
On she went. Her ax slung on her back and her heart full of hatred. Even if she had a heart underneath all her pain. All her madness. All her darkness. Who knows? Some hearts can survive through much toil.  
On she went. Over hard rocks and rancid marches. Over hot lava and jagged cliffs. This was the dangerous territory of Kingdom Hearts. A baron wasteland. Toward her destination. Toward her target. Her heart full of anger and blackness.  
On she went. Never tempted to turn back. Never afraid of the rough terrain. But, still there was fear. A fear that lingered in her very being. Fear of what she might discover when she reaches her destination. When she reaches him. Reaches Riku.  
"What if things are worse than she thought?" Akida said out loud. She knew no one was there. "What if they have figured out his mission? What if he had turned? Worst of all, what if he had... fallen in love?" Akida turned red and sweaty again. "No! I can't let that happen. He's mine! I've loved him too long to give him up to a pair of outsiders. He's always been mine. No one's going to change that. No one!"  
Akida kept going. Never looking back. Never stopping to rest. Always ready to fight. Ready to kill. Ready to destroy anything. Anything that came across her path. She wanted to kill. She had to kill. She needed to kill.  
She kept climbing and traveling along the bitter terrain of rocks and boulders. Always thinking of Riku. Thinking of what she would love to do when she reached him and those girls. 'If only milady didn't need those damn girls.' Thinking of how she'd love to take up her ax in her hand and...  
"OH! Damn those girls! Why did they have to be girls!? Ahh!" Akida stormed off in rage.  
Meanwhile, a guardian of this world of darkness was listening in. it started to follow Akida. Always following her voice, for Akida kept mumbling under her breath.  
After a few yards, Akida sensed something was following her. She went along with it. Let the thing follow her. She wanted it too. She wanted something to do. It would be fun. Leading it on and on, until she was ready. Ready to strike. Ready to kill. She waited. Waited for about five minutes.  
All of a sudden, Akida turned around and whipped out her ax. Nothing was there. It must have left. So, Akida turned back around. Somehow, it had gotten in front of her. She finally saw her stalker. A tiny Heartless no taller than her waist line. It stood directly in front of her, blocking her path. And Akida wouldn't allow anything to come in the way of her path.  
"Are you okay Lady Akida?" The small Heartless murmured in its own language.  
"Get out of my way!" Akida didn't have time for this.  
"At once Lady Akida." The Heartless said. it looked very frightened and confused. It started to move to the side, but Akida lost her patience.  
"Not fast enough!" Akida raised her ax in rage and THWACK! With one swift blow, she cut through the Heartless like butter. She sliced it in half and down it went.  
"Wow." She said, kind of sad-like as she stared at the helpless, mutilated form lying before her. "I feel better."  
On she went, again.  
--~*~--  
They had been split up for an hour and a half. Sora was looking in the Secret Place. Donald and Goofy were looking near the edge of endless trees the into the center of the island. Dogan was sitting up in a tree, scouring down as far as he could see. Becky was looking while she walked eastward on the beach. Sashi was walking westward on the beach near the shoreline.  
"Do you see him yet!?" Sora yelled up to Dogan as he stepped out of the Secret Place.  
"Nope! No sign of Captain Raging Hormones anywhere!"  
"I still don't understand why we're looking for him! I say let him stay lost!"  
"Sashi, we are looking for Riku whether you like it or not! So get over it!" Sora demanded at the top of his lungs.  
"Okay, okay! Don't tear up the Brooklyn Bridge!"  
"What's the Brooklyn Bridge!?"  
Sashi didn't answer back. She just kept walking on, pretending to look for Riku. He had disappeared just after the Heartless had died. They didn't even see him run off.  
'You'd expect Riku to be the one who abandons you when you need him the most.' Sashi thought.0  
After ten minutes of silence between the six companions, Sashi began to hear something. A song. A very familiar song. The very song her dad had sung to her every night since she was seven months old. Her lullaby. A short and sweet song called Lullaby for Wishers. Coincidentally, it was also Becky's lullaby. No one knew how, but they ended up with the same lullaby.  
Across the beach, Becky began to sing.  
"Good luck and charm bracelets  
Pots of gold.  
Jewels, silver, crystals  
Treasures untold."  
On the other side of the island, Sashi yelled back the second part.  
"Waiting and waiting  
For its day to come.  
Trumpets and bagpipes,  
A harp and a drum."  
Becky saw Sashi running up to her. They locked arms with each other and spun around as the sung the last part together.  
"Find it I did sir,  
All of the riches.  
Hiding inside me,  
In hopes and in wishes."  
They fell down on the soft sand next to each other, laughing hysterically. They loved their song. It always seemed to make them feel better.  
Dogan watched the girls from atop the tall tree. "That's pretty. Where'd you learn it?" By this time, Dogan had climbed down the tree and was standing next to the girls.  
"It's our lullaby. Our dad's have been singing it to us since we were babies." Becky answered.  
"It's a really nice song." Sora said coming from behind the tree. "That's another thing you'll have to teach me Sashi."  
"Another?" Becky asked.  
"Yeah, I promised Sora I'd teach him how to play baseball."  
"Cool. Teach me too! Please!" Dogan pleaded.  
"Okay Dogan. You too. Calm down." Sashi said, still laughing. Then, she saw Sora. He looked sad, yet disappointed in himself. "I'm sorry we didn't find him Sora. And I'm sorry I gave you such a hard time about it. That was a harsh thing to do. He's your friend and I should have helped more. Even though I despise his very being."  
"It's not your fault Sashi. It's really okay. I'm just happy to know that he's out of Kingdom Hearts. That's all that matters. Now, we just need to concentrate on getting you guys home."  
--~*~--  
Night had come. All six friends sat around a huge fire Dogan had conjured up. They were all very tired. Sashi was sitting against a large rock. Becky had her head laid on Sashi's lap. Sashi ran her fingers through Becky's hair as Becky silently sang her lullaby. Dogan was laying down on his back as he gazed at all the stars. Donald and Goofy were already fast asleep next to the fire to keep warm. Sora was leaning up against a tree, staring into the fire.  
"Dogan?"  
"Yeah Sashi?"  
"Where's that book?"  
"What book?"  
"The one Merlin gave us."  
"Oh, it's in my pocket. Why?"  
"Lemme see it."  
"Sure." Dogan pulled out the tiny book from his back pocket. He waved his hand over it and it returned to its normal size. He passed it over to Sashi.  
"Thanks." Sashi placed the book next to her, still stroking Becky's hair, who was now pretending to sleep. The book looked the same as it did last time she saw it. Still all tattered and torn, but there was something different about the words on the cover. They now looked... familiar. Like she had seen them before, or heard them before. She thought harder and harder, but her concentration was soon interrupted.  
"Hey Sora, I got a question." Dogan said, still on his back.  
"I've got an answer."  
"People live on this island, right?"  
"Yeah."  
"So, where are they? I mean, I didn't see anyone when I was up in that tree."  
Sora paused for a moment. "All right, maybe I don't have an answer." he began to look very worried. "Where is everyone?" A moment passed by.  
"Everyone is either in Traverse Town or they just disappeared."  
"Oh." Becky said. "Wait, who said that?"  
"I did." The voice didn't belong to anyone in the party. It was new.  
"Who?"  
"Me."  
"Where?"  
"Here." From inside the vast amount of trees came a girl. She was Becky's height. She had long red hair and big blue eyes. She was wearing a beige tank-top with red cap-sleeves and a short maroon skirt. The thing that was most noticeable about her was that her hands were behind her back.  
Everyone stood up. As everyone stared at the girl, Sashi and Becky slipped into a vision. The same one they had back in Traverse Town. This time, something else happened though. The vision came closer to them so they could see everyone's faces clearly. Including the girl's. They now could see her face. All this took about ten seconds, then they came back to reality. This was the girl from their vision. They knew who she was.  
"Kairi?" Sashi said.  
"Yeah, that's me."  
Sora mouth dropped. "Kairi!?"  
"Hello Sora." She seemed so calm.  
Sora ran toward her and put his arms around her. She, too, out her arms around him. He was so happy to see her again.  
"This is really touching, but... um... who the hell is she?"  
"Calm yourself Dogan. Didn't I teach you anything?"  
"Boss!" Yes, it was Merlin. Dogan ran up to him and flung his arms around his boss.  
Sashi and Becky stood back and smiled. They were glad to see Merlin again. They also didn't want to disturb the reunions.  
Dogan let go of Merlin. His expression quickly changed from happy to confused and angry. "Why are you here!? You've been following me, haven't you!? Didn't think I could do it!? Well, Mr. Wizard, I am doing just fine. I've used my magic, correctly, I helped kill a giant Heartless, and I haven't tripped over anything yet!" Dogan stuck out his tongue and backed up. Out of spite (and because it would be really funny), Sashi and Becky stuck out their feet, right in Dogan's way. Ker-plunck! Down Dogan fell onto the sand. Everyone started hysterically laughing.  
"That wasn't funny." Dogan said as he lay on his back.  
"Yes it was!" Goofy said, still laughing.  
"More than you'll ever know!" Donald said, doubled-over.  
Becky bent over, still laughing. "Come on Dogan. Up." She gave him her hand and lifted him up.  
"I'm not here because I thought you couldn't do it my boy. I'm here because of Kairi."  
"Kairi? Why?" Sashi asked.  
"I'm to escort her to Disney Castle."  
"Kairi, why are you going to Disney Castle? Why aren't you staying here?" Sora asked.  
"I'm going to go live there."  
"What!?"  
"I'm going to help the queen in the king's absence."  
"You're going to take the king's place?" Donald and Goofy said, shocked.  
"In a way, yes. Not permanently though."  
"What's not permanent, your ruling there or your living there?" Sora questioned.  
Kairi turned to him and sighed. "My ruling there. I'll be living in Disney Castle from now on. Even after the king returns."  
"When are you leaving?"  
"Tomorrow night."  
"So, this'll be your last day on Destiny Islands."  
"Yeah. I'm sorry Sora, but I have to do this. You understand?"  
He walked up to her and took her hand. He lifted her hand up to his mouth and placed his lips on it. "I understand."  
Kairi blushed a bit.  
"Here, let me introduce everyone. You already know Donald and Goofy. This is Dogan, Merlin's apprentice."  
"Merlin's told me a lot about you." They shook hands.  
"Really? What about me?" Dogan said suspiciously.  
"Don't worry, good stuff. Who are there?" Kairi pointed to the two girls standing in back of everyone.  
"That's Sashi with the blonde hair and the red-head is Becky."  
Kairi looked amazed. "So, you're Sashi and Becky. Wow. You look like you'd be the Protectors of the Kingdoms. Nice to meet you two." Each shook hands and Merlin stepped forward.  
"How are you girls doing?"  
"Fine." Becky said.  
"Yeah. All except the vision thingies and the big, scary Heartless that talked but only we heard it. Other than that, we're peachy."  
"You heard a Heartless speak?" Merlin said, very interested. "Both of you?"  
"Yeah."  
"What did it say?"  
"Don't know. It was speaking in some funny language."  
"I knew you were the one's."  
"What?"  
"Dogan, get me that book."  
--~*~--  
"Akida had found their trail, milady."  
"Good. What about Riku?"  
"Umm... well... he's on his way back here. He should be here any minute, milady."  
"That's just fine."  
"It is?"  
"Those girls are coming here no matter what stupid. Riku can come back for a while."  
The doors flung open and Riku ran in. He was out of breath and looked very excited. "Maleficent! Ansem! I know what I want!"  
  
**AN: Alright, Heartless, it may confuse you guys. Mostly because you don't have the translations. Never fear, here they are: Jeshno harubbah= How can it be?; Namin yataus!= The Lockblades; Queska hotenna!= The Keyhole; Huttala manoroon draga!= The sacred weapons; Eta padtut abid= Then it is true; Besqual laman bor teenatat= You are the chosen ones; Kaydonah faidha destay= The Protectors of the Kingdoms; Capell zelnor oakna, duvel warso kelkama elset= No matter what, the Kingdom of Darkness will fall; Goroohak bajess, kaydonah faidha destay sabayna thaor= For at last, the Protectors of the Kingdoms have come. I'll have this at the end of every chapter that has Heartless in it. See ya next chapter.** 


	6. The Writing on the Cover

*The Writing on the Cover* **Yet another disclaimer: My characters are mine (duh!), and all the others  
are legally owned by SquareSoft and Disney.**  
  
"Are you sure that's what you want Riku?" Maleficent said in a cold tone.  
"Yes." Riku responded firmly.  
She turned to Ansem, who spoke to the boy. "You are aware that they might have to be killed. If that happens, you won't get what you want."  
"I'll take my chances."  
"All right Riku." Maleficent said. "Which one do you want?"  
"Sashi."  
"The blonde one?" Ansem asked. "Why?"  
"Well, for one... she's hot! Two... she's hot! Three.. she's got a kick ass right hook. And four... she hates me. I have a tendency to want what I can't have."  
Ansem raised his eyebrows at the boy's answer. Trying to shift Riku's decision, he posed another question. "What about the other one? The redhead?"  
"Doggy wants her. If Doggy wants something there's gotta be something seriously wrong with it." Riku quickly answered, not letting the mention of Becky change his thoughts of Sashi.  
Maleficent and Ansem exchanged concerned expressions. Riku didn't notice. His thoughts were concentrating on Sashi. 'I wonder what she'd look like with nothing on?'  
Maleficent became rather taken aback by this. Ansem, on the other hand, gave a small snicker. Because of this, Maleficent slapped him across the back of the head. He bit his lip to keep from yelling out loud and held the back of his head.  
"All right Riku. You may have her." The dark woman said, disappointed in the boy's want for something he could never have.  
"Tell me boy," Ansem said, stepping forward and still holding his head, "how do you propose to get her?"  
Riku paused. "Well, I was kinda hoping milady would help with that little detail."  
"You want me to cast a spell on her?" Maleficent said mischievously, seeing that this was the opportunity she was waiting for.  
"Yes milady." Riku sounded very innocent, trying to win over his controller.  
"Oh come now Riku. You don't want to win her over yourself?" The witch mused with a dangerous smile to add to her horrid yet satisfying expression.  
"I might have mentioned that... yeah... SHE HATE'S ME! With A Passion!"  
"So?" Ansem questioned.  
"Don't you see my dilemma!?" Riku wined.  
An even more cruel and horrifying smile crept onto the woman's face. She stared at the green-eyed boy who stood at the bottom of the jagged steps. "Riku, I'll help you all I can. But I must remind you, my powers are used for the darkness only. Love doesn't fit into that category. Just remember, the sooner you complete your orders, the sooner you may have what you want. Now, the girls will find their way to the Olympus Coliseum next. Make sure you're there before they arrive."  
"At once milady." Riku turned and began to walk away toward the giant double doors. He grasped the handle and turned his head back to Ansem and Maleficent. Not completely assured by Maleficent's words, Riku left the castle and headed for the Olympus Coliseum. Maleficent and Ansem watch as he left.  
"What do we do now? You heard his thoughts. He seemed to be obsessed with this girl." Ansem said, still watching the doors.  
"Shut up you! I'm aware! Thank the darkness he's not as bad as Akida." Maleficent turned away from the doors. She glided over to her black thrown and sat down. She held her staff in her hand tightly in pure annoyance.  
"Yes indeed. How are you going to help him?" Ansem still faced the doors.  
"Haven't you ever heard a lie before idiot?" Maleficent sighed and shook her head a bit at Ansem's stupidity.  
"I am sorry milady. I have one concern though." Finally, Ansem turned toward Maleficent with somewhat of a doubtful expression on his face. "What if the boy starts to feel more than just want for this girl? What if he starts to truly love her?"  
"That's impossible fool. To love something, one must have a heart. Riku doesn't."  
--~*~--  
The book had been placed on a tree stump. Sashi and Becky slumped over it. Merlin and the others were about five feet from the stump in front of the girls. Becky stood there looking very confused; Sashi had her arms crossed and looked a bit annoyed.  
"Just try girls." Merlin begged.  
"Try what?" Becky complained. "You want us to stare at the book now!? What do you want us to do? 'Cause we've kinda just been waiting for something to happen. And so far, it doesn't seem to be working. So, just to satisfy you, I won't take my eyes off the book." Becky looked down at the tattered old book and tried to concentrate on it. Suddenly, a confused expression took over the girl's face. No one noticed though.  
"What do you expect us to try Merlin? We can't do it!" Sashi yelled. "This book will never open!"  
"Come on, a little longer." Kairi asked, clasping her hands together.  
"We've been standing here for twenty minutes! It's not gonna... Becky? Becky, are you okay?"  
Becky had a funny look in her eyes. She looked as though she was possessed or something. She was staring at the book and rocking side to side.  
"Becky!?" Sashi ran to the other side of the stump and faced Becky. "Becky!? Snap out of it!"  
Sashi waved her hands in front of Becky's face, but she didn't move. She had to see what the big deal was. So, she looked down at the book and concentrated on it. At first, she didn't realize anything. Everything about the book was the same. All of a sudden, she began to see what Becky was seeing. The words were no longer gold. They had turned a fiery red. They seemed to become 3D and were wiggling a bit. Sashi began to breathe harder and harder. The book had now taken her. Sashi felt herself be overtaken by pain and unknowing of what was going on. She was writhing in pain and it hurt just to take a breath. The others saw Sashi differently. To them, she was just like Becky now; a possessed look in her eyes and rocking side to side.  
The sky over Destiny Islands turned dark and hollow. The winds picked up, howling at everything in its path. The waves crashed on the beach harder than ever, sounding as though hundreds of canons were going off at once.  
Sashi's pain grew and grew and then suddenly disappeared. She waited for a moment, wanting something to happen that would explain what was going on. She look around in a paniced fashion, searching for anything. Everything had turned silent and seemed to have been swallowed in shadows. She gazed down at the book again. The words were still fiery red. But now, she began to hear voices coming from the book. Low, dark voices that spoke to her in a different language. The voices sent visions into Sashi that scattered through her mind. Flashes of her past. Centered around her father and her younger self. Between every vision was a flash of light.  
Flash! Sashi saw herself at the age of two. She was in bed with her father sitting at her side. He was singing.  
Flash! Sashi saw herself at the age of ten. She was in bed. Her brother, who was one at the time, was sleeping next to her. Their father was sitting beside them. Once more, he was singing.  
Flash! Sashi saw herself at the age of seven. She was on her father's lap in her den. Her father spoke to her, gently.  
"You know Sash, your lullaby wasn't just made up off the top of someone's head." Brad said.  
"It wasn't?" replied the small girl.  
"No. It's a very special lullaby. It came from fairies."  
"Really?" the young child questioned.  
"Yes. They say that fairies with wonderful powers created Lullaby for Wishers. The song was meant to do great things. That's why, when you were born, the fairies came and whispered it in my ear. They said that this lullaby was only for the most magical and wondrous child ever to come into this world. And it was you Sash. Always remember that. You can do great things with this lullaby Sash. All you have to do is believe."  
That was the last of Sashi's visions.  
Meanwhile, the others stood there. Watching. Not knowing what was going on. The sky kept getting darker. Thunder and lightening had started to come from the sky and it added to the tremendous and horrifying noises that were already being made by the sea.  
Becky could now see Sashi. She had been experiencing visions too. Every one about their lullaby. So, she put two and two together and began to sing.  
"Good luck and charm bracelets  
Pots of gold.  
Jewels, silver, crystals  
Treasures untold."  
Sashi joined her.  
"Waiting and waiting  
For its day to come.  
Trumpets and bagpipes,  
A harp and a drum."  
The others stood mystified by what was unfolding before them. Sashi and Becky kept on singing...  
"Find it I did sir,  
All of the riches.  
Hiding inside me,  
In hopes and in wishes."  
The book remained closed.  
Something did happened though. The words became redder and redder. As the words changed, so did Becky and Sashi's eyes. Instead of Becky's blue eyes and Sashi's green ones, they were flame-red. As if the book itself had commanded them to, Sashi and Becky began to chant something. They were saying the words on the cover. Three times they said the strange and unknown words.  
"Alahand nemoray sendel boroo."  
"Alahand nemoray sendel boroo."  
"Alahand nemoray sendel boroo."  
The book remained closed.  
The sky became lighter. The winds died down. The sea became clam. The soft sounds of the birds, the wispy breeze, and the gentle waves returned to the island. And Sashi and Becky came back to reality with a sudden jolt.  
The book opened.  
Sashi and Becky lifted their heads and met eye to eye. The two girls' bodies were shaking fiercely. Their breathing was harder than it had ever been before. Sashi was the first to speak.  
"Never... again." She panted a bit and suddenly collapsed backwards.  
Becky spoke.  
"The book... stays... open." She, too, fell backwards onto the sand and passed out.  
Sora ran to Sashi and Dogan to Becky. They knelt down next to the unconscious beings. Sora lifted Sashi's head up. Dogan grabbed Becky's shoulders and shook her.  
"Sashi!?" Sora yelled in fear.  
"Becky!?" Dogan said frightened.  
"Sashi!?"  
"Becky!?"  
"SASHI!?"  
"BECKY!?"  
Dogan felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Merlin's face.  
"What happened boss?" Dogan asked as tears began to fall down his cheeks.  
"They'll be all right." Merlin answered, starring at the two girls. "They just need to rest. Bring them in that shack over there." Merlin pointed to a small, wooden shack about fifty feet away. Sora knew this shack. He knew it all too well. It was his Seashore Shack.  
Dogan put his arms under Becky's body and picked her up. Her head fell onto his chest. A single tear rolled down Dogan's face and landed on Becky's closed eyelid.  
Sora placed Sashi's head back on the sand and lifted her into the air. He had to jerk her head up so it laid on his chest. He followed Dogan and the others to the shack.  
Dogan was the first to reach the shack. He placed Becky on the sand floor. Sora was next. Instead of immediately placing Sashi on the sand, he paused. He looked about the shack. It had been over two years since he had last stepped foot in it. He wanted to remember it from now on; he took a good look at everything. It was really simple looking. Wooden walls. Sandy floor. It was more of how it felt being there than the actual look of it that made Sora stop. That's what he wanted to remember. The feeling. The feeling of being home.  
Sashi was placed on the ground. Dogan turned to his boss.  
"Now will you tell us what happened?"  
"They opened the book." Merlin said, amazed.  
"I know that. But what about the whole dark sky, thunder, lightening, red-eyes, ala-whatever shit?" All Dogan wanted to know was whether or not Becky was going to be okay.  
"I don't know. Only the girls know."  
"Why don't you know boss!?" Dogan yelled aggravated.  
"My magic may be powerful by it isn't all-powerful Dogan. There was no way for me to know what happened to them." Merlin looked down and placed his eyes on Sashi and Becky. "But I can imagine it wasn't pretty. Sora, Dogan. You'll need to keep watch over them. They're vulnerable and there are too many Heartless on this island to take any risks. Sora, you'll have the first shift."  
Sora nodded.  
"Three hours later, Dogan will take over."  
Dogan nodded.  
"The rest of us will rest by the fire. Let's go."  
--~*~--  
"Dogan. Dogan." Sora stood over Dogan and continuously poked him. "Dogan. Wake up." he started to shack Dogan. Still, the boy slept. "Dogan? Becky's under attack."  
"Becky, I'm coming." Dogan said, more than half asleep.  
"Dogan!" Sora slapped him across the head.  
Dogan opened his eyes slowly, moaning a bit and shaking his head.  
"Finally. Damn, you could be mistaken for Sleeping Beauty the way you sleep. Of course, excluding the beauty part." Sora laughed.  
"What?" He said, dazed and confused.  
"Come on. It's midnight. Your watch."  
"Yeah, yeah." Dogan moaned again.  
Sora took Dogan's placed on the sand, while Dogan walked into the shack. There she was, lying on the ground. Becky. He laid down next to her and leaned on his hand.  
"Hey Becky, I know you can't hear me, but I'm just gonna talk anyway. There's something I gotta tell you. I know I've only known you for about three weeks, but I can't help it. I really like you. I know I'm no good for you and I know you deserve better. I just do. It's crazy to think about, isn't it?" The girl laid there, fast asleep and motionless. "Dogan, Merlin's idiotic apprentice, ever really liking someone. up to the point where it could turn into..." Dogan didn't finish. He blinked once and sighed. His tone changed to a more serious one. "I'll stop talking now. It's impossible. How could a girl like you ever truly like a guy like me? It's nuts." he sat up and turned away from Becky. "Wake up Dogan." He put his face in his hands. "It'll never happen. Just give it up. Even if she did, how could she ever live with my past? Knowing what I've done, it's disgusting. No human being would ever do the things I've done. No human being would ever live with themselves after doing the things I've done. No human being could ever live with a person who's done the things I've done. How could Becky? I've gotta protect her from that. I can't let her live like that. Never." Dogan stood up and went in the corner. He stood there for about an hour. He tried to stay awake, but he couldn't. He sat down on the sand and fell asleep watching Becky.  
--~*~--  
"Ouch! Damn tiny rocks!' Akida cursed as she tripped over a small rock hidden in the sand. "I hate this place. No boulders. No lava. No cliffs. Just sand. Damn sand! I hate it!" Akida started to spin around while kicking the sand. "I hate it! I hate it! I ha..." Akida gasped. There they were. Right in front of her. Five of them. Sleeping by an extinguished fire about fifty feet in front of her. "Wait. Where is he?" Akida panicked. She looked around frantically as she blew a few braids off her face. "Riku? Riku?" From her belt, Akida whipped out a pair of binoculars. She lifted the binoculars so quickly that she hit herself on the forehead. The pain didn't matter though. She placed the binoculars on her eyes and looked through them attentively. "Riku?" She came closer. "Riku?" She came even closer. "Riku?" And closer still. "Riku? Oh-no."  
Akida threw the binoculars into the bushes not caring at all. She began to hyperventilate. She bit her nails uncontrollable. "He's not here. He's not here." Akida walked around in a tiny circle. "The love of my life is not here. Why is he not here!?" Akida jumped, then looked to see if she had woken any of them up. No; still snoring. "They got rid of him. " She said, sounding a bit insane and obsessed. "They sent my love away. How dare... No. No Akida. Don't get angry. you'll just wind up doing something you shouldn't." her eyes turned red. An evil smile found its way onto her face. "But now I must kill. Must do it for him." She shook her head an her eyes turned back to their normal color, black. "No. I won't listen. No." Once more, he eyes were red. They kept changing back and forth. Black. Red. Black. Red. She reached for her ax and crept forward. She saw Kairi. "One of those girls. She'll go first. No. Stop. You're not supposed to. Ohhh! Must kill. Sent Riku away. Die." She was consumed in her madness by now. Her eyes were firey-red and her ax was grasped tightly in her hands. She was going to do it. She was going to kill Kairi. She had to. The madness was forcing her to. She gave an evil laugh. "It's your turn Sashi slash Becky. I Win." Akida lifted her ax in the air.  
Akida lifted her right hand to her mouth and blow on her palm. Some sort of dust flew off her hand and landed on Merlin, Donald, and Goofy. "Sleep." she whispered. This would insure that they wouldn't wake up at any time and try to stop her.  
It was pitch black. Akida had thought that the old man, the duck, and the dog were the only ones there at the moment. Simply to say, she had no idea Sora was lying right under her feet, let alone his foot was right in her way. So, naturally, she tripped over it and stumbled a bit.  
Sora opened one eye and saw a shadowy figure standing over Kairi with an ax in its hand. Akida didn't see him get up. She kept walking towards Kairi, grinning to herself. Sora ran, grabbed Akida's waist, and they both toppled down. Akida dropped her ax and it nearly missed Kairi's foot.  
As they hit the sand, they began to wrestle. Tumbling, kicking, fighting. They rolled side to side. One minute Sora would have Akida pinned to the ground and the next she would have him. As Akida turned over to pin Sora, she accidentally kicked Kairi's arm. Kairi, facing away from Sora and Akida, opened her eyes slightly and heard the rumble. She turned around and sat up. She could really make out what was going on since it was so dark out. To lighten the area, she waved her hand and the fire blazed once more. That's when she saw what was happening.  
"Sora!"  
Unfortunately, Sora was the one doing the pinning; he was on top. His hands held down Akida's and his legs straddled Akida's waist.  
'So he's Sora. Riku didn't tell me he was so cute.' Akida thought. 'Let's see, she thinks we're..., so let's allow her to continue to think that.'  
"What are you doing!?" Kairi yelled, infuriated.  
Sora looked at the mysterious girl, then back at Kairi. He took his hands off Akida's and answered back as he realized what Kairi was thinking.  
"I didn't do anything. I swear, nothing happened. She tried to..." Sora was cut off.  
"Um, excuse me." Akida spoke, directing her words to Kairi. "Do you mind? We're kinda busy."  
Sora's shirt was half off because of the battle. Thus, to add a little flavor to the situation, Akida pulled it off. "Now, where were we?" She smiled at the puzzled and disgusted teen aged boy who was still sitting on top of her, placing her hands on his bare chest.  
"Sora! How could you!? And with a girl like that!" Kairi yelled.  
Akida gave Kairi a sinister look. "Are you implying something!?"  
Sora got off of Akida and stood up. Akida followed. "But nothing happened!"  
"Well what was that!? And who is she!?" The furious teenaged girl shouted.  
"I have no idea who she is!" Sora was beginning to become annoyed that the fact that Kairi didn't believe him.  
'Okay, now what to say?' Akida thought to herself. 'Ah, I know.'  
"Sora! After all we've been through! How could you say a thing like that!?" She yelled, making it seem as though she was upset.  
"What are you talking about!?" Sora's eyes scrunched while he shook his head.  
"Are you denying that there anything between us!?"  
"Yes!" Sora nodded, becoming more annoyed and aggravated by the second.  
"Does this mean you don't love me anymore?" Akida's eyes glazed over in fake tears.  
"I never loved you to begin with!"  
"You only wanted me for my body? How could you do that to me!? I thought we had something special!" She grabbed onto arm and cried into his bare chest.  
He pushed her away, disgusted and furious. "I Don't Know You!"  
"Sora! First you make me believe you really like me and then you go and break this poor girls heart! What kind of sicko are!? Hit on me and use her!" Kairi yelled, appalled.  
"But Kairi, I Didn't!"  
"Sora you make me sick!"  
'Oh, this is good. Now for the finishing touch.' Akida thought and almost rubbed her hands together in pleasure from the way she played these people.  
"Don't yell at him! That's my job! Remember, he's my man, not yours!" Akida turned to Sora. She grabbed his face and placed her lips hard against his. She remained like that for a few moments. She let him go and he stood there stunned. Akida walked away about ten feet before turning back to Sora. "Bye honey. We'll continue this later." She waved and disappeared into the darkness.  
Still stunned, Sora, unintentionally, smiled.  
"Sora!"  
"Oh come on, I'm a guy. What do you except?" Sora said, still starring at where his mystery girl had disappeared.  
Kairi stormed away in fury.  
"What did I say now!?" He shouted, seeing Kairi walk off.  
"You're horrible!" The girl yelled back, not turning around.  
"Well, so are you!"  
"Get off my island!" She continued to walk further and further away from him.  
Sora was so enraged, he had to yell something back to finish it all. "It was my island first!" Sora watched as Kairi wandered off down the beach. He looked back to find the astonished faces of Merlin, Donald, and Goofy, rubbing their eyes. "I didn't do anything."  
Goofy walked over to Sora and put his arm around him. "Don't worry Sora, I believe ya." Goofy yawned.  
Donald didn't say anything.  
Merlin, on the other hand, did. "I don't know what happened Sora, and I don't wanna know. All I know is, as that male in the situation, you better go apologize."  
"Apologize for what? Nothing happened between me and that ax girl. Okay!? She tried to kill Kairi."  
"So you took your shirt off and wrestled with her?" Merlin questioned.  
"No! I tackled her and she took my shirt off!" Sora yelled back at the wizard.  
"All right. What ever you say Sora." Merlin went off after Kairi.  
Finally, Dogan appeared on the scene. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Hey guys. I heard some yelling. What's up?"  
Sora looked furious. Donald looked annoyed. And Goofy, well, Goofy looked... Goofy.  
"Did I miss something?" Dogan said, slowly as his confusion raised to the next level.  
"Dogan, just go back to sleep." Sora mused, looking at the sea.  
"But what happened?"  
Sora picked up his shirt. He grabbed Dogan's shoulders, spun him around, and pushed him toward the shack. "Just go back to sleep, Dogan!"  
Dogan marched back to the shack, aggravated. "Just go back to sleep Dogan." He said, mockingly. "What's the big deal? And why can't I ever know about it!?" Dogan slammed the shack door shut and faced Sashi and Becky. He looked at the in horror, then screamed out at the top of his lungs. "Sora!!"  
--~*~--  
It was cold. Sashi wished that her entire belly wasn't bare and that she had longer sleeves.  
It was dark. Becky remembered that darkness from the encounter with the cloaked figure.  
Besides the darkness, a lot of other things wee similar to that vision. Especially the hooded figure itself.  
"Whoa!" Becky jumped back and put her arms around Sashi's neck.  
"Not you again!" Sashi yelled, holding onto one of Becky's legs.  
The figure began to approach them. It spoke to the girls like last time. Except it was different. It was in that funny language the Heartless had spoken in. As it spoke, it came closer and closer to Sashi and Becky.  
"Belayjesta terrona lauramay. Egensa abankey kilyots."  
Sashi and Becky looked terrified. Not because of the approaching figure, but for another reason. They knew what all those words meant.  
(A magic that can't be solved. Something needs to be lost.)  
"Schmest windelo cansore. Myfel nestaro ques endelohet."  
(Something must be left behind. Left for the darkness to consume.)  
The figure was about five feet away from the girls. It halted. For the last time, it spoke.  
"Vanches telmandor bendaroo. Poroo leketaa duvel warso elset akinavet."  
(The closer you come to the light, the greater your shadow becomes. The Kingdom of Darkness always had a light.)  
Sashi leaned toward Becky. "I don't get it."  
"Neither do I." Sashi whispered back, starring at the figure.  
The cloaked figure gave a small sigh. It's eyes had been revealed. They were sad and thoughtful.  
"I'm sorry." He said, almost tearing.  
The cloaked figure approached them once more.  
All of a sudden, another cloaked figure appeared out of the darkness. It was facing away from the girls and it had its hood on, meaning they couldn't tell who it was.  
At the sight of the new cloaked figure, the first one backed away. And he kept walking away until he disappeared completely, leaving Sashi, Becky, and the new cloaked figure behind in the darkness and silence.  
It started to turn towards the two frightened and utterly dumbfounded teenaged girls. As it did, all the saw was a single glowing, green eye. The last thing they saw before waking up was a necklace around the figure's neck. It was in the shape of an asterisks and glowing with a brilliant pale white light.  
  
(AN: I must tell you, when I was typing the Sora/Akida/Kairi scene, I started cracking up at my computer. My mom thought I was going nuts. That's probably why I'm currently sitting in a pretty, padded room with a tight, white jacket on. JUST KIDDING! See ya next chapter. P.S. Keep Reading!) 


	7. Plans

Plans  
  
All characters that are not mine are obviously not mine, they are SquareSoft and Disney. All the rest are mine, all mine! Ha-Ha!  
  
"Hey Becky. Wake up Becky."  
  
"Luke?"  
  
"Becky? Do not try to pull that crap with me? Becky!" Luke's tone was humorous and he laughed during various parts of his sentences."Come on, Becky. You and I both know that are very much alive and very much conscience. Becky! Wake up! You're gonna make me pounce on you, little sis. Wake up." Luke's voice began to fade away.  
  
"Luke? No, don't go Luke. Luke?"  
  
"Becky? Who's Luke? Becky? Becky, wake up."  
  
Becky lay on the sand, her eyes closed. She was crying and kept calling for her older brother. His voice didn't return to her thoughts, though. A new voice was waking her up. A voice she knew well.  
  
"Dogan?" Becky whispered as she opened her eyes.  
  
"Hey you. How are you?" Dogan was sitting next to her looking relieved and scared.  
  
"Okay I guess. Where's Sashi? Is she up yet? Is she okay?"  
  
Before Dogan could answer, Becky heard Sora. He was repeating Sashi's name over and over. Becky turned around to see her best friend still shaking uncontrollably on the ground.  
  
"Sashi!" Becky went to Sashi's side. "What happened!? Why isn't she up yet!?"  
  
"I don't know. One minute she was calming down and the next she started having the seizure things." Sora said.   
  
Becky put her arms around Sashi and held her tight. She was shaking terribly in Becky's arms. Becky squeezed tighter.  
  
"Sashi, Sashi. Calm down. It's over. Come back. It's over. Sashi?" Becky was now crying her eyes out. "Sashi you can't leave me! Stop! Be strong! It's over. It's all over. Becky never let go of Sashi, not for a second. No matter how hard and fast Sashi's body twitched in her arms, she held on to her friend as if it was the last time she'd ever be able to be able to hold her. The others, standing around the two girls, could now see how much these kids really loved each other.  
  
Sashi's breathing was slowing down. Slowing down too much though. Her heart beat was almost undetectable.   
  
Sashi was dying.  
  
"Sashi!!"   
  
No answer.  
  
Becky brought Sashi's ear to her mouth. "Poroo leketaa duvel warso elset akinavet. Find that light Sashi. Find that light."  
  
Sashi kept shaking in Becky's arms. All of a sudden, she stopped. She wasn't breathing anymore. Becky put her ear on her chest. There was no sign of a heart beat at all. She was gone. Sashi's lifeless body laid in Becky's arms like a puppet without strings.  
  
"Wake up! Wake up! You promised you wouldn't leave me! Wake up God dammit! You promised you'd never leave me alone!" Becky's voice lowered. "You promised."  
  
Sora put his hand on Becky's shoulder. Tears streamed down his cheeks. "She's gone Becky."  
  
"No she's not!" Becky cried out.  
  
"Let her go Becky. She's gone."  
  
Sora's words echoed in everyone's ears and imprinted themselves in each person's mind. Sashi was gone.  
  
Becky placed Sashi on the sand. Her tears ran down her cheek's and land on her friend's dead body. She couldn't believe it.   
  
"No!" Becky flung her arms around Sashi, still keeping her deceased friend on the ground. She put her head against Sashi's shoulder; her ear next to Sashi's mouth.   
  
As if she was in a dream, Becky heard Sashi take a deep breath. She didn't look up though. She knew she was just imagining it. Sashi was dead.  
  
"Becky? Get up. Look." Dogan said in a shaky voice.  
  
Becky got off Sashi and sat up. She wasn't dreaming. Sashi was breathing. Her breathing picked up. her pulse was now strong. She opened her eyes and looked up into Becky's.  
  
"Hi stranger." she whisper in a weak voice.  
  
Becky helped her friend up. Sora and Dogan stood on either side of Sashi and help her up. Becky took a spot in front of her. When she was finally standing, still with the assistance of Sora and Dogan, Becky punched Sashi's arm.  
  
"Ow!"  
  
"Don't you ever do that to me again!"  
  
"Well it's not like I did it on purpose!"  
  
Becky wrapped her arms around Sashi. "You almost died." She whispered.  
  
"Yeah, I know." Sashi put her arms around Becky and laid her cheek on Becky's head. She stroked Becky's head with the palm of her hand and closed her eyes.  
  
Sora came up and put his hand on the back of Sashi's neck. "You all right now?" He said calmly.   
  
"I hope so."  
  
Becky hit Sashi again.  
  
"I mean yes. Yes."  
  
"Let's all try to refrain from any form of near-death experiences in the near future, shall we." Dogan said, putting hi hands on Becky's shoulders and poking his head in.  
  
"Confusing as it is, I agree with Dogan." Sora said.  
  
"Thank you. Hey!" Dogan ran at Sora and knocked him down. Both boys lay on the sand, laughing hysterically. That would be that last time Sora truly laughed for a while.  
  
----  
  
Kairi sat on the ground of the Secret Place. Her eyes were red with tears and her cheeks were soaked. A memory came through her mind.  
  
"Remember what you said before Kairi? I'm always with you too. I'll come back to you. I promise."  
  
"I know you will."  
  
With a tight fist, Kairi slammed her hand against the wall. "Damn you Sora! Damn you! Why? You promised. Why did you leave me? Why are you leaving me again" Kairi couldn't control her tears.   
  
"Kairi, there you are my dear."  
  
Kairi turned and saw Merlin entering the Secret Place, bent down as to not hit the low ceiling. "So you finally found me, huh Merlin?"  
  
"It took me three trips around the island and a coconut, but I made it. Oh my dear, you looked terrible."  
  
"Well thank you." Kairi said, sarcastically yet humorous.  
  
"It was no tro... Oh dear, what am I saying? Come quick, I feel something has happened to Sashi."  
  
"Sashi? What happened?"  
  
"I don't know. We must go quickly, or it may be too late."  
  
"Don't say that. Protectors can't die that easily. Come on." Kairi wiped her face and ran out of the Secret Place with Merlin always behind her.  
  
When they reached the shack, all looked still. It was very quiet. The sun was raising over the water. All of a sudden, Sashi walked out of the shack.  
  
"Sashi!"  
  
"Merlin." Sashi was relieved to see him. "Shh, everyone else just fell back asleep."  
  
"Sashi, are you all right? He said, running up to her.  
  
"Yeah, I'm... Kairi? What's up? You look like a New Yorker who just watched the Yankees lose the World Series in the seventh game, ninth inning, full count, and Jeter takes a third strike."  
  
"I'm fine. Uhh, Yankees?"  
  
"Don't ask."  
  
"Okay. What happened? Merlin said something happened to you."  
  
"Something did happen, but... Merlin will you stop looking at me like that! I'm fine now!"  
  
"What happened?" Kairi whispered, very concerned.  
  
"Well, I kinda had a... um... a near-death experience."  
  
"You had a what!?" Kairi yelled.  
  
"A near-death experience. But I'm all right now."  
  
"That's not the point. What happened?" Merlin asked.  
  
"I told you, I almost died."  
  
"No, I know that part. What was happening when you were dying?"  
  
"What kind of a question is that!?"  
  
"People like you just don't die. Something has to happen while they die that is making them die."  
  
"Oh, okay." Sashi said, even though she didn't understand it.  
  
Kairi sat down on a log. Merlin stood next to her. Sashi squatted down in front of them. She started to play with the sand, then spoke.  
  
"Well, first the book thing happened and then the unconscious state, but you already know that part. After that, I had a vision."  
  
"About what?"  
  
Sashi hesitated. She didn't want to tell them what her vision was about for some strange reason. So, she lied. "Can't remember,"  
  
"All right. Go on."  
  
"Right. I was coming out of it, but something was pulling me back. Someone was screaming." Sashi voice became low and frightened; as if she didn't want to remember. A single tear fell from her eye. "They were being hurt and I heard them scream. The screaming was continuous. I saw a pair of huge, wooden doors. The screaming stopped only for a moment, then started again. Differently. The scream sounded had happened. The scream sounded more like a depressed moan and crying. The doors began to open. A blinding white light came from the inside. Then..." Sashi had to clear her throat before she could go on. "Then I heard Becky. She said 'Poroo leketaa duvel warso elset akinavet. Find that light Sashi. Find that light.' With that, I came back."  
  
"What does poroo...?" Merlin asked, interested.  
  
"Poroo leketaa duvel warso elset akinavet. It means 'The Kingdom of Darkness always has a light.'"  
  
"So now you're speaking Heartless?"  
  
"Yeah."   
  
"Merlin, where do the girls go after we leave?" Kairi asked.  
  
"They'll be going to the Olympus Coliseum."  
  
"We will?"  
  
----  
  
"I say we just kill them. They know too much."  
  
"I say we kill them too. But just for the fun of it."  
  
"And I say you should all shut up under penalty of me."  
  
"Yes milady."  
  
Maleficent sat down at a giant, rectangular-shaped table. Ansem was next to her. She ordered the others to do the same. They did.  
  
This was The Council. The Order of Villains. A meeting of bad-guys. Maleficent, of course, was at the head of the table.  
  
Ansem sat next to her as second in command.  
  
Hades was next. Ruler of the Underworld and the villain of the Olympus Coliseum.  
  
Jafar, in his human form, sat at the end. And all-powerful dark genie and the villain of Agrabah.  
  
Captain Hook sat opposite of Hades the captain of a treacherous pirate ship and the villain of Neverland.  
  
And finally, next to the captain, sat Chernibog. A devil of all worlds and the villain of Disney Castle itself.  
  
Maleficent had called them all to Kingdom Hearts. And she did for a purpose. One single purpose that would change the course of the worlds forever.  
  
"The Protectors of the Kingdoms are coming here." Maleficent said, softly.  
  
"What!?" Captain Hook yelled out.  
  
"How is that possible!?" Hades asked, quite pissed off. "If they come here, they could defeat you!"  
  
"Yes, then where will we be?" Captain Hook said.  
  
"Calm yourselves. I know what I'm doing."  
  
"What are you doing milady?" Jafar questioned.  
  
"We will not be killing them. Do you all understand?"  
  
"But milady, they are the Protectors of the Kingdoms. If we don't get rid of them now, they'll be too powerful for us in a month."  
  
"Don't worry Hades. Everything is under control."  
  
"How?"  
  
"Gentlemen, by the end of all this, we will own the hearts of the Protectors. They we work for us. Carry out our every command. Do whatever we bid them to. Destroy anything that must be gotten rid of in a hurry."  
  
"I see." Jafar whispered.  
  
"Why only call us four milady? Why not any of the others?" Captain Hook seemed puzzled.  
  
"On their way here, the Protectors will be passing through four specific worlds. The Olympus Coliseum. Agrabah. Disney Castle. And Neverland."  
  
"How is it that you know they will be coming to only those worlds milady?" Hades asked.  
  
Maleficent looked over at Ansem. "I have my ways."  
  
"What ways are they milady?"  
  
"Before th Protectors depart from a world, they have visions that tell them what world they have to visit next." Ansem finally spoke.  
  
"These visions show certain things that have to do with those two annoying girls." Maleficent finished, slamming her fist down in the table.  
  
"Wait. The Protectors of the Kingdoms are two girls!" Hades exclaimed.  
  
Ansem answered. "Yes."  
  
Hades, Jafar, and Captain Hook broke out into uncontrollable and hysterical laughter.  
  
Captain spoke while still laughing. "Do you mean two little girls or two grown women?"  
  
"They're teenagers. One's sixteen and the other is fifteen and a half." Ansem said very seriously.  
  
All of a sudden, the three villains' chairs turned into red hot flames.  
  
"OW!!!" The three screamed, jumping up in pain.  
  
They looked at Maleficent, who just shook her head.  
  
They looked at Ansem, who responded with, "Not me."  
  
Their chairs reappeared, wooden.  
  
"Thank you Chernibog." Maleficent said, mischievously.  
  
Chernibog bowed its head a bit, then returned to its motionless, silent state.  
  
"Sit." Maleficent commanded, pointing down. "Good. Now listen and listen good because I am only going to say this once. I Want Them Alive When They Come Here! Not dead! Not almost alive! Not even scratched! Do you understand? I have plans for them when they arrive."  
  
"What would you have us do then milady?" Jafar asked, still hurting from being torched.  
  
"Get on their nerves. Make sure their stay at your worlds unforgettable. I'll take care of the rest."  
  
"What do you have in mind?"  
  
----  
  
"Yes. Now Kairi, I think..."  
  
"Wait, wait, wait! We will!? Why are we going to the Olympus Coliseum!? Why aren't we going straight to Kingdom Hearts!? And why are you looking at me like that!?"  
  
Merlin and Kairi looked terrified. Sashi was afraid to turn around. She didn't want to see what she might have to fight in fear that it was bigger than her.   
  
"Oh well." She sighed. "I've already lived through one near-death experience."  
  
She turned, slowly. And there it was. The thing that had scared Merlin and Kairi stone stiff. One small Heartless. Just standing there, watching them.  
  
"Okay, I have had just about enough of random things trying to kill me! Back off!" Sashi yelled.  
  
The Heartless looked at her in confusion.  
  
"Sashi, stop talking to it. Don't encourage it." Kairi whispered in fear.  
  
"Koh eye noor hardtmuth." Sashi uttered in Heartless.  
  
The tiny Heartless backed off and disappeared.   
  
"Wow. How'd you do that?" Kairi asked.  
  
"I yelled at it." Sashi said, still enraged.  
  
"What did that phrase mean?"  
  
"Piss off pip-squeak." Sashi sat back down on the ground, steaming hot.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Okay, now, why the Olympus Coliseum?"  
  
"It's for your training." Merlin looked a little scared still.  
  
"What training?" Becky said, joining the scene and still half asleep.  
  
"Yeah, what training?" Sashi asked as Becky sat down next to her.  
  
"The training you need to survive."  
  
"Survive!" Sashi screamed, getting up.  
  
"Now girls, don't get excited." Merlin said, backing away.  
  
"But we have Sora!" Sashi yelled.  
  
"And Dogan!" Becky also yelled, hating the fact that she was a damsel in distress.  
  
"Calm yourselves now. Let's stay away from and pain and bruises." Merlin backed up even more.  
  
"Hey!" Sashi and Becky tuned around and saw Dogan. His expression was both angry and surprised. "What's going on"  
  
"Not now Dogan!" Sashi yelled.  
  
"Why can't I ever know what's going on!?"  
  
"Because it never concerns you!"  
  
"Well, I'm making it concern me now." Dogan walked in front of Merlin. "First person to touch him will have to come through me! Even though I fear Sashi more than a Heartless and I'd never hurt Becky." He said, first very brave then jokingly.  
  
"That's nice. Now get out of my way Dogan!" Sashi didn't seem herself.  
  
"No."  
  
"Don't push me Dog Boy!"  
  
"Sashi!" Becky was shocked. This was not Sashi. She placed her hand on Sashi's shoulder. Immediately, Sashi turned around and her eyes were red. "Don't touch." She turned back to Dogan. "For the last time... MOVE!"  
  
"No."  
  
"Ah!" Sashi raised her Lockblades. She had them at Dogan's neck when Becky pulled her away. She had the Keyhole out and her had also turned bright red.  
  
"That's enough." Right before Becky was about to strike, she spoke again. "Don't make me put a hole through your gut."  
  
Sashi, with the Lockblades still in her hands, raised her arms. "Go ahead. Take your best shot."  
  
Becky raised the Keyhole. Dogan was the only thing that stopped her from killing her best friend.  
  
"Becky! What the fuck is the matter with you!?" Dogan looked into Becky's red eyes. "Who are you? Where's my Becky? And where's Sashi?"  
  
Becky pushed Dogan back. "Back off."  
  
"Enough!"  
  
Sashi and Becky were suddenly thrown back by some magic. They both slammed into a rock and feel to their knees.  
  
"Ouch!" Sashi cried as she grabbed her head.  
  
"Let's not do that again." Becky complained as she lay on the ground.  
  
"On no. Never again."  
  
Dogan took out his crossbow and walked over to Sashi and Becky. He pointed it at Becky's neck.  
  
"Show me your eyes." He demanded.  
  
Becky opened her eyes. Blue.  
  
He pointed his crossbow at Sashi's throat.  
  
"You too."  
  
Sashi opened hers too. Green.  
  
"All right boss. They're back."  
  
He gave his hand to Becky and pulled her up. Then he helped Sashi.  
  
"What happened?" Sashi asked, still holding her head in pain.  
  
"I had to do something." Merlin said.  
  
"You threw us against the boulder?" Becky asked.  
  
"Yes, I did." Merlin answered.  
  
"Thank you." Becky said, quietly. "Even though I have no idea what we did."  
  
"That's why you need training." Merlin said.  
  
----  
  
"Everything is set milady."  
  
"Good."  
  
Ansem followed Maleficent out of the council room into her thrown room. She sat sown on her thrown. The wood was as black as her heart.  
  
"Milady?"  
  
"What is it now?"  
  
"Do you really plan on killing them?"  
  
"Of course not, imbecile. They're too valuable to me. Why do you ask?"  
  
"It was foolish of me to ask milady. I am sorry. I shall leave you to your mirror." Ansem turned around and began to leave the room.  
  
"Wait. Ansem, come back."   
  
"Yes milady?"  
  
"Are you beginning to feel something for these girls?"  
  
"No."   
  
"You're not telling me something Ansem. What is it?"  
  
"Nothing milady." And with that, Ansem vanished through the doors.  
  
'What am I doing?' Ansem questioned himself. 'I shouldn't be doing this. The light means nothing to me anymore. I only care for the darkness. The darkness that lies within all hearts.'  
  
"Except them!" Ansem yelled as he threw his fist against the wall of the corridor.  
  
"Tentor Ansem?" A small was now standing at Ansem's side.  
  
Ansem knew this Heartless well. This Heartless was different from all the others. This was the first Heartless Ansem had created himself. Ansem had given it the name Chechnori, which was Heartless for White Darkness.  
  
Chechnori wasn't like the others. Other Heartless only had a passion to destroy. But Chechnori felt things. Things that a Heartless shouldn't feel. Confusion. Want. Sadness. Fear. Hope.  
  
Hope was the thing that separated him from the others the most. Hope was a mistake. Hope wasn't meant to be felt by a Heartless.  
  
"Keltoro Chechnori." (Hello Chechnori.)  
  
"Tentor Ansem, jos flur mencek?" (Master Ansem, is there a problem?) Chechnori asked.  
  
"Shenor vestel." (Nothing's wrong.)  
  
"Qel nor deshvul hon?" (Are you remembering again?)  
  
"Betlem wistel." (Stronger than ever.)  
  
All of a sudden, a Heartless guard ran up to the two.  
  
"Tentor Ansem, Lanel Maleficent esborn feairlort." (Master Ansem, Mistress Maleficent calls for you.)  
  
"At once."  
  
Ansem slowly walked back to where he had left Maleficent. She stood in front of a very familiar mirror gazing into it with a malicious glare.  
  
"You remember the day I had you steal this from the Queen?"  
  
"Yes milady."  
  
"I'm glad you succeeded."  
  
"Why is that milady?"  
  
"Do you know what information I get from this?"  
  
"No milady, what do you see?"  
  
She turned around and faced him, the malicious glare still in her black eyes. "They're leaving."  
  
AN: Okay people, for those of you who got worried at the beginning, do you honestly think I'd get rid of Sashi? (So soon.) JK!!!! JK!!!! And also, don't panic, Chechnori doesn't come up again, and NO he is not Ansem's little pet. Keep reading, PLEASE! Thanx. See ya next chapter! 


	8. Blood and Water

Blood and Water  
  
Yes, it is yet again, another disclaimer. I wonder what would happen if I didn't put one of these things at the top. sudders at the thought Okay, all characters that don't belong to me belong to Disney and SquareSoft. The rest are mine.  
  
Dogan had been leading them as far east as the island allowed. All the time, Sashi and Becky kept been staring at their feet.  
  
They stopped.  
  
'This is it.' Becky though.  
  
Sashi looked over at Becky. Then down at the Lockblades. How could she have tried to kill her sister? Becky ad grown up with her whole life. She was Sashi's sister. Not by blood, but by something else. Something that meant more.  
  
"Blood is thicker than water but water is more refreshing." Sashi had accidentally said this out loud.  
  
"What?" Becky asked.  
  
"Oh, nothing. Nothing. Just... just thinking."  
  
'Merlin was right.' Sashi thought.  
  
Sashi faded into a memory. They were all on the beach just after Sashi and Becky had been revived from their little possession spell.  
  
"That's why you need training. Sora and Dogan can protect you from some things, but not this. They can't protect you from each other. Not from remembering. No matter what you think, you will remember. And that was only a taste of what will happen from now on.  
  
"All things happen for a reason. It's a great mystery why, but they do. This must happen for a reason. It is a part of your destiny. Destiny follows certain steps. If a step is passed over, the destiny falls apart. The Olympus Coliseum is your next step. I don't have a reason why this is your destiny. It doesn't chose. Destiny is nothing more than an idea, But it's when you believe in that idea that it becomes real. Remember that. Never look back. And never forget the reason you are here."  
  
Sashi's memory ended. She snapped back to reality.  
  
"Segelath."  
  
'I wonder what happens?' Becky thought.  
  
"Benthemor."  
  
'I wanna find out.'  
  
"Rohoo."  
  
'Wait. How?'  
  
"Mentenaroo."  
  
'I know!'  
  
"Segelath!"  
  
'I'll... stay up.' Becky's eye lids became heavier by the minute.  
  
"Benthemor!"  
  
'Can't... stay... up. Must... not...'  
  
"Rohoo!"  
  
'Sleep.'  
  
"Mentenaroo!"  
  
Becky drifted into a state of unconsciousness. She fell backwards onto the soft sand and seemed to be falling through it. She kept falling. Then floating. Into nothing and forever.  
  
----  
  
"Hey!"  
  
Sora didn't answer.  
  
"Kid! Hello!?"  
  
Sora didn't want to open his eyes. All he wanted to do was lay down in the middle of wherever he was and make believe no one else existed.  
  
"Kid! Come on, wake up!" The voice's owner walked over to Dogan. The owner started to poke Dogan and yelled again. "Hey! Kid!"  
  
Dogan slowly opened his eyes and he gazed upon the owner of the voice that was trying to wake him up. "Ahh! It's the attack of the mini-goat people!"   
  
"Min-goat people? Try again kid."  
  
"It's the attack of the relatively short half human half sheep people?" Dogan asked in a calm but confused voice.  
  
"Hey, what's with all the size comments!?"  
  
"Hey Donald, lookee 'ho it is." Goofy remarked, sitting up.  
  
Sora was now broken. They wouldn't leave him to sleep. And he had to see who this "mini-goat person" was. So, with a heavy sigh, Sora opened his eyes.  
  
"Finally kid. Thought you'd never wake up."  
  
"Phill?"  
  
"Who'd ya think it was? Zeus?" Phill said, standing back so Sora could get up. "Long time, no see kid. Where ya been?"  
  
"Everyplace you can possibly imagine."  
  
"Really? So, who's your friends over there?"  
  
"You know Donald and Goofy. That's Dogan."  
  
"That's Mr. Dogan to you little goat man."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. So, who are they?" Phill asked again.  
  
"I old you. Goofy, Don..."  
  
"Not them, kid. Those two lying on the ground. In the middle of the road." Phill said, pointing in some direction.  
  
Sora looked in the direction Phill was pointing. And there they were. The two girls he was trying to save in the middle of the road, sleeping. "Ah, no. Sashi! Becky! Wake up!"  
  
Becky rolled over. "Just five more minutes auntie." she muttered half asleep.  
  
"But there's a..."  
  
"Hey! Get out of the road!"  
  
All of a sudden, a horse drawn cart came speeding (for a horse and cart that is) down the road. Becky rolled over and jumped up. "Sashi move!"  
  
"Move!" the cart driver rudely yelled.  
  
Sashi sat up and slid out of the way. "Hey, I'm unconscious here!"  
  
"Don't worry. They're all right." Dogan said, looking down at Phill and jerking his head toward Sashi and Becky.  
  
The two girls walked tiredly over and joined the others. Still mostly asleep, Becky walked over to Dogan and placed her head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. Sashi sat in front of Sora and leaned back against his legs. She, too, closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. The two boys looked at them in utter puzzlement.  
  
Dogan move to the side slightly.  
  
"Move and you die." Becky said, her eyes still shut tight.  
  
"So," Phill said, crossing his arms, "these your girlfriends or something?"  
  
Sora was the first to answer. "No, no! We're just helping them get home."  
  
Dogan paused for a moment. Sashi, suspecting that he was blushing or something, spoke. "You'd better answer within three second boy-o." She demanded, not moving or opening her eyes.  
  
"No." He muttered, terrified that Sashi would chop off his head or something like that.  
  
A moment later, yet another person joined the little group. He was a burly man with red-orange hair and bright blue eyes. He wore what looked like a kilt of armor and the symbol of the gods implanted on his belt.  
  
He directed his speech toward Phill. "Who are these guys?" He then saw Sora. "Sora? Sora, it is you. Great to see you again kid."  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Hey, hey, hey. Come on Herc. What are you doing, being all nice and giddy for? They could be the new form of Heartless." His tone sounded very insulting.  
  
"Heartless!?" Becky grabbed Phill by the tail. "What do you mean Heartless!? Do you see any blackness or scary pointy hands and feet!? Do ya!?"  
  
"Becky! Come yourself dear one! Deep, cleansing breaths." Sashi said, grabbing her friend's shoulders.  
  
Phill and Hercules looked very confused. Phill leaned toward Donald.  
  
"Don't even ask." was all Donald said.  
  
Sashi and Becky looked at Hercules straight in the eyes. They didn't go into a vision, as they expected. Something different happened. Hercules seemed to read the girls' pasts through their thoughts. It all happened within a few seconds.  
  
Hercules bent down to talk to Phill. "Phill, these are them. These are the ones Merlin said were coming. They're the Protectors of the Kingdoms." he whispered.  
  
Phill had an astonished look on his face as soon as he was told this. He couldn't believe it. Two girls were supposed to save all the worlds? 'Impossible.' he thought. Or was it?  
  
"All right Sora. Tell us about 'em." Phill said, moving to the far side of the road. Everyone else followed.  
  
Sora pointed to Dogan. "This is Dogan, apprentice to Merlin and clumsy fool extrodinaire."  
  
Dogan jabbed his elbow into Sora's stomach. Sora held his stomach and continued.  
  
"This is Becky, Keyhole master, sorta, and an outsider. She's from and unknown world, which we trying to get her back to. And this is Sashi, Lockblades master, sorta again, and other outsider. Also, she has anger management problems, so stay clear of her."  
  
Sashi gave him that ever popular 'I'm gonna kill you later.' look.  
  
"Now that we're all introduced, don't ya think we should see 'bout gettin' a room fer tonight?" Goofy asked, very politely.  
  
"You're right Goofy. Wow, never thought I'd say those words in the same sentence." Dogan said. "Just kidding Goofy. Any ideas Sora?"   
  
"Nope." He answered, smiling.  
  
"We'll help ya." Hercules said. "I know a place where you can stay the night. Then, tomorrow, we'll start your training."  
  
"Wait, how do you know about that?" Becky asked.  
  
"Because I do." he answered back.  
  
"Yeah, but... are you getting into our minds or something? How do you know about the training and what not?" Sashi demanded.  
  
"I told you, I just know. This is how things are supposed to go."  
  
"All right! I've had enough of all this destiny shit for one day!"  
  
"Oh no." Becky said.  
  
"I ain't taking it anymore!"  
  
"Stand back. She IS Dangerous." Becky warned.  
  
"So you know what!? You can take these," Sashi took out the Lockblades, "and shove them up your..."  
  
"Sashi, don't you dare." Becky scolded.  
  
"Screw the blades! Screw the training! Oh!" Sashi stormed off extremely pissed off. She suddenly stopped, turned back around, and screamed, "And screw the public!"  
  
As Sashi disappeared, the others stood there in shock. Becky broke the eerie silence.  
  
"I wouldn't worry about this." She said. "Her temper tantrums aren't usually like this."  
  
"Oh good." Phill sighed in relief.   
  
"They're usually much worse."  
  
----  
  
Sashi was now in a canyon. Rock walls and boulders surrounded her on all four sides. Nothing else save a small stone staircase she used to enter the canyon. She was boiling over with fury. She was still holding tightly onto the Lockblades as she walked.  
  
"Okay, need to release stress. Need... a baseball."  
  
Usually at home when Sashi was pissed off, she'd take a baseball and just throw. Hard and fast. She'd stand in her backyard and pitch to her garage wall. Sashi would sometimes throw for hours. A memory came to her. She remembered when her brother was born. A few days before the birth, Sashi became very jealous and argued with her parents. So, she threw. For hours she did fastballs, curveballs, screwballs. Even after her shoulder began to hurt, she wouldn't stop. After three hours of hard pitching in the rain, her shoulder went. It made a horrible cracking sound. So, on the day Todd was born, Sashi was getting surgery on her right shoulder. She missed her own brother's birth.  
  
So, with her fists still clinging to the Lockblades, she walked on.  
  
"And I can't even use you to relax!" She yelled at the blades. "'Cause I don't even know how to use you unless I become all scary and possessed-like! Oh! I hate you!" In a fit of rage, Sashi threw the Lockblades into the air. The landed a good ten feet in front of her. "So there!"  
  
Sashi, once again stormed off. She ran for about ten seconds. She made zigzags and sharp turns so she was sure to lose the Lockblades.  
  
As the eleventh second passed, Sashi stepped in front of a huge boulder and started talking to herself again.  
  
"There's no way in he... oh." Sashi was a pair of two black, mangled feet. She looked up. Connected to the feet were two black legs. Connected to the legs, was a stomach and chest. Connected to that, were two long, black arms. And on the top, there was a hideous black head with hair that dangled down all sides of it. This is all Sashi needed, one of those big Heartless. A Darkside.  
  
Sashi grabbed the sides of her belt. She had forgotten that she had thrown the Lockblades away. She looked down at her belt in shock, then back at the Darkside.  
  
"This is one of those times when you wish you hadn't done the thing you just did ten seconds ago."   
  
The Darkside made a loud, screeching roar.  
  
"Yeah, bye. AHHH!!!!!" Sashi took off in a direction that she hoped would led her as far away from the Darkside as possible. She didn't count on it following her though.  
  
"Unfair!" Sashi yelled back at the Darkside. "You have longer legs than I do!"  
  
Sashi jumped over random rocks and ducked down unknown paths. The Darkside was still in pursuit.  
  
Sashi made a final turn. Dead-end. The canyon wall surrounded her an three sides and the Darkside was right behind her. She had nowhere to go. Sashi ran toward the wall, thinking she could go up. On the way, she tripped over a stone and fell to her knees. The walls was a mere two inches away from her, but her leg was throbbing for some reason. It was badly slashed and bleeding. She couldn't move, so up was no longer an option.  
  
Sashi faced back and the Darkside was ten feet from where she lay, wounded. She sat there, panic-stricken. The Darkside stepped forward. She knew this was it.  
  
"I'm sorry Todd." Sashi covered her face with her arms and waited.  
  
----  
  
Becky sat down next the Dogan, awaiting her friend's return. She was on the floor of the hotel room they had rented for a while. The hotel Hercules and Phill had brought them to was called the Achilles Heel. It was a small room, but it would do.  
  
"Becky, what are you doing?" Donald asked, very frightened.  
  
"Nothing." she answered, not knowing what was going on.  
  
"How come yer disappearing then?" Goofy asked.  
  
It was true. Becky was disappearing into tiny blue sparkles of light.  
  
"Whoa! Stop! I Command You To Stop!!" Becky yelled. But it didn't stop. In a matter of seconds, Becky was gone.  
  
It was dark where she reappeared. The only light she had were the small sparkles of blue light that surrounded her. A minute went by and nothing happened. Becky just stood there, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.  
  
An image appeared in front of her.  
  
"Merlin!" She screamed as the image came into focus.   
  
He didn't answer. He was looking at something else. A woman appeared beside Becky.  
  
The woman was elderly with long gray hair that ended at her waist. She was wearing a dark purple dress and a black cape that was draped on her back and fell to the floor. Around her neck, there dangled a long silver chain with a strange charm on it, something that looked some what like a rose bud, but different. It glowed a magnificent gold and silver color. Something was very distinctive about this woman, an odd tattoo that was imprinted on her forehead. It looked as though it had been burned into her flesh. It was a straight line that ran vertically in the middle of her forehead. Two other lines ran horizontally through it. The upper most line was at the very top of the first line and the other was positioned in the middle. The line on top was a bit longer than the line below it.  
  
The woman walked over to Merlin. They began to speak, but no words were heard, They seemed to be arguing about something. After a moment or two, Merlin became so enraged that he snapped his fingers and disappeared.  
  
The woman stayed still. She out her hand up in the air, palm flat, and closed her eyes. A symbol seemed to burn into the darkness. It was Becky's scar.  
  
The image of the woman faded into darkness. Becky also began to disappear. The blue sparkles of light replaced her body.  
  
When she reappeared, she wound up on Dogan's lap. He was sitting on the floor in tears. He grabbed her tight and held on to her, not wanting to let go... ever.  
  
----  
  
Sashi still laid on the ground with her face in her arms. She pulled them away a bit and a confused looked enveloped her face. "Wait. Why ain't I dead yet?" she said, blinking on confusion.  
  
Slowly, Sashi removed her arms and turned over. The Darkside lay mangled on the ground, dead. Then, it disappeared completely. This was way too confusing.  
  
"But... but I didn't do that!" Sashi yelled, still overwhelmingly confused.  
  
Her leg began to sting again. She looked toward it, but something else caught her eye on the way. A pair of boots and a black cloak. Sashi followed the cloak up to discover a hooded person.  
  
"Oh. That explains a lot."  
  
The person turned and knelt down next to Sashi's wounded leg. He or she began to tend to her cut. The hood was still on, so Sashi still had no idea who had just saved her life.  
  
All of a sudden, a single strand of silver hair was revealed. Sashi sat up and took the hood in her hand. She pulled it off her savior's head and realized who it was.  
  
"Yo.. you!"  
  
"Hello Sashi."  
  
"What the hell are you doing here!?"  
  
"Saving your life."  
  
"You... you!" Sashi calmed down. "You just saved my life."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Sashi threw her arms around her savior and buried her face in his chest. "Thank you Riku."  
  
----  
  
It was night now. Everyone was in the hotel room. Stories of the Darkside, disappearing, life saving, and the 'vision witch' had already been exchanged. Sashi could now stand on her leg, kinda. Dogan kept close to Becky, just in case. Donald held an ice pack on Sashi's leg while Goofy held one on Dogan's head (he had gone a tad bit crazy when Becky had disintegrated into thin air). Riku was setting up an extra place for himself on the floor. And Sora... Sora? Um, Sora wasn't there at all. Come to think of it, he had been gone for hours.  
  
"Don't ya think someone should go look for Sora?" Dogan asked as Goofy shifted his ice pack.  
  
"Yeah." Sashi said.  
  
"Thank you for volunteering Sashi." Dogan said, very craftily.  
  
"What!?"  
  
Becky just shrugged her shoulders and pointed toward the door. No one else looked at Sashi, all though they had smirks on their faces. They were afraid that she'd trick them into going instead.  
  
"Oh." Sashi got up and limped toward the door. "Fine. Send the crippled one out into danger. Don't worry, I'll make it through, somehow."  
  
"That's not gonna work Sashi." Becky smiled.  
  
"It was worth a shot." Sashi said as she closed the door.  
  
Sashi limped up and down the streets of the Olympus Coliseum. Sora was nowhere to be found. Finally, after an hour of looking, she made her way back to the hotel.  
  
Sashi was extremely thirsty. So, before retreated to the room, she stopped at the small bar in the lobby. She stepped into the bar and sat down on an open stool. A large and burly man walked over to her.  
  
"What's your pleasure miss?" he asked in a deep voice.  
  
"I'll have a coke."  
  
"What's a coke?"  
  
"Oh yeah. PS2 game. No coke. Okay, I'll have... uh... I'll have Moogle Wine."  
  
"Don't serve that here."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Only serve Moogle Wine in Traverse Town miss."  
  
"Well, then give me whatever's the cheapest."  
  
"That would be water."  
  
"Fine. Water." Sashi said annoyed.  
  
The bar tender walked away to get Sashi's water.   
  
Next to Sashi was a guy with his head down on the bar table. He was facing away from her. On the table next to his head, there was a bottle with a gold liquid filling about a gulp full of the bottle.  
  
There was a strange and yet oddly familiar air to the man beside her, but she couldn't quite place it in the abyss of her strange mind. The bar tender came back and gave Sashi her drink. She took one sip, and then it hit her. She turned and faced the guy next to her.  
  
"Sora?"  
  
The man hiccuped.  
  
Sashi stood up and leaned over the man to see his face.  
  
"Sora!" She screamed as she saw that it was indeed the one and only Sora. She sat back down.  
  
He turned over. "Hey," he hiccuped again, "Slashi."  
  
Sora was drunk! Sashi picked up the bottle next to him, a completely shocked and utterly confused expression on her face. She read the label.  
  
"Even in a world of little goat man and flying horses, there will always be... scotch." Sashi sighed and once again turned her attention to Sora. He looked totally and completely bombed.  
  
"Hey Sashi... you sherd really try... some of this stuff." Once again, he hiccuped. "It's really good." His breath reeked.  
  
"Ugh. Sora, how many of these did you have?" Sashi asked.  
  
"Umm..." Sora held up four fingers. "Two." He smiled and hiccuped.  
  
Sashi didn't believe him. She wasn't a drinker, but she knew that it took more than two shots of scotch to make you this drunk. Then, it dawned on her.  
  
"Two shots or two bottles?" Sashi was becoming more concerned by the second.  
  
"The bigger ones." He answered, happily.  
  
"Two bottles of scotch! You had two whole bottles of scotch!?"   
  
"No." Sora picked up the bottle and gulped down the remaining liquid. "Now I did." He hiccuped again and smiled.  
  
Sashi turned to the bar tender. "You let him have two bottles of scotch!?"  
  
"He was willing to pay. And he even tipped."  
  
"But he's bombed! Do you realize the massive size of a hangover he is going to have tomorrow morning!?"  
  
"His problem, not mine miss."  
  
"How could you do something like that!?"  
  
"Listen miss, I'm sorry. But it's my job to give the customers their drinks. He wants two bottles of scotch, I have no choice but to give him what he wants. As long as he's got the muney to pay, I gotta. I'm sorry. I did water the scotch down though."  
  
"Watered the... Oh." Sashi placed her finger tips on her temples and made small circles over and over again. "Ugh. Think of a happy place. Think of a happy place. Don't hurt anyone. Just take Sora upstairs and relax." She took a deep breath and put her hands down. "Come on Sora. Time to go."  
  
"But I wanna..."  
  
"No you don't. Come on." Sashi put his arm on her shoulder and she grabbed his waist. "Up we go." She lifted Sora off the stool. Sora stumbled many times over himself, always laughing. Sashi tried just not to fall flat on her face.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, they had finished their very interesting and clumsy journey up the stairs. They approached the room. By now, Sora was stammering in front of her. Sashi held onto his chest. She managed to open the door and light a few candles (using magic of course) with little trouble, sorta. No one was there. A piece of paper lay on the table next to the door.  
  
'Went to look for you. Be back soon.- Becky and all the others.'  
  
"Oh sure, leave the gimp with the drunk. Thanks." Sashi kicked the door closed.  
  
"I love you Sashi." Sora said randomly.  
  
"Yeah, I love you too Sora." She dragged him across the room.  
  
"I didn't even get you a wedding present."  
  
"I think I'll live." Sashi said, then realized what Sora was thinking. "Sora, even drunk, I didn't know such thoughts could creep into your mind."  
  
She leaned Sora against the wall and rolled down the sheets on one of the beds.  
  
"You know, you're great Sashi." Sora stammered again.  
  
"Thanks." Sashi said, not really paying attention and not turning around.  
  
He stood up as straight as he could and grabbed Sashi's waist. She spun around and was face to face with the young drunk. He brought Sashi close to him and didn't let go.  
  
Sashi paniced. 'Okay, don't panic. Don't show any sign of fear and he will let you go.' Sashi thought to herself.  
  
He loosened his grip. "No, I mean you're really great. And to show you how much you mean to me, I'm gonna give you something." he said, coming closer to her. He placed his lips on Sashi's and kissed her. He let go and smirked.  
  
"Oh." She reared her right arm back and punched Sora, hard.  
  
Sora spun around and fell to the ground with a thud. He lay there, motionless. Sashi mouth dropped.  
  
"Oh shit. Oh, Sashi, you really do need to work on your anger management skills." She paniced. She knelt down next to Sora and stared at him. "Oh please don't be dead." Sashi shook him, yet he didn't respond. Sashi took her hands off the boy and she began to breathe hard in fear. "I killed him. Oh my God, I killed him!"  
  
"Ow!" Sora yelled, lifting his head up a bit.  
  
"I didn't kill him You're alive!" Sashi yelled in relief.  
  
"Please, no loud noises." Sora complained.  
  
"Oh, sorry. Come on, let's get you into bed."  
  
"Slowly." he said, holding his head with both hands.  
  
Sora got into bed and Sashi pulled the sheets over him.  
  
"One question: Why? What made you do this to yourself?"  
  
Sora sighed and closed his eyes. Even though the hangover was now in full effect, he still had enough to answered. "Kairi."  
  
"Kairi? So you two did leave the island pissed off t each other."  
  
"Yeah." he whispered.   
  
"Even so, you guys are best friends. You'll get through this."  
  
"It's not that Sashi." he stared up into her green eyes.  
  
"Then what? What is it?" she looked right back into his.  
  
Sora began to tear. Sashi took his hand and asked again in a whisper, "What the matter?"   
  
Sora stayed silent for a moment. Finally, he cried out three words. "I Love Her!"  
  
"Oh. Well, that changes things a bit."  
  
----  
  
Sora and Sashi spoke for more than an hour before the teen aged girl fell fast asleep. She had been sitting on the bed next to Sora. He head fell on his shoulder. Sora placed one arm around Sashi and with the other, he took her hand. He too soon fell fast asleep. Two minutes later, everyone else came through the door and into the room. Sashi woke up immediately.  
  
"Hey guys." she whispered.  
  
"Hey. Why's Sora sleeping? Where's he been?" Riku asked.  
  
"Well, it's a long story." Sashi answered, not wanting to tell everyone that Sora had fell into depression and got himself bombed.  
  
"Okay." The green-eyed boy said.  
  
Donald and Goofy situated themselves on the floor next to Sora's bed. Dogan laid down near Sashi and Becky's bed. The two girls had a full size bed to themselves. Riku was by the door.  
  
Sashi and Becky sat up talking to each other.  
  
"Ow." Sashi said, holding her stomach. "I never should have ordered that bar water."  
  
"Like your mother always said 'Don't drink the water.'" Becky smiled. "So, which one do you like?" Becky asked while everyone else was asleep.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Sora or Riku? Which one do ya like better? I know you like one of them."  
  
"As a what?" Sashi questioned.  
  
"Oh come on Sashi. You know what as."  
  
"Neither."  
  
"All right then, why were you sleeping on Sora's chest before?"  
  
"We were talking and I fell asleep. And besides, I fell asleep on his shoulder, not his chest."  
  
Becky looked at her in disbelief.  
  
"Nothing happened. He's become a friend. He needed to vent." Sashi replied.  
  
"Vent about what?"  
  
"Kairi. He loves her ya know."  
  
"All right, if you don't like Sora, then ya gotta like Riku."  
  
"No."  
  
"Well, then why did you willing except him giving you a piggy-back ride all the way from the canyon to the hotel?" Becky smirked, thinking she had won.  
  
"I couldn't walk. My leg was sliced open. And he did save my life."  
  
Becky shrugged. "I still say you like one of them."  
  
"Well, the I say you like Dogan." Sashi said.  
  
"I have no problem admitting that." Becky answered.  
  
Sashi hit her friend on top of her head. They both laughed.  
  
"Come on then Sashi," Becky said, still laughing, "what's the deal with you, Sora, and Riku?"  
  
Sashi smiled at her sister by love. She simply replied, "Blood and water."  
  
AN: Okay, okay, I know that a lot of you are probably mad at me for getting Sora drunk, but it fit so perfectly. And it shows how much he loves Kairi. And yes, Riku is getting a little better. See ya next chapter. 


	9. Unexpected Happenings

Unexpected Happenings  
  
Whoa! Another disclaimer! Yeha!! Can you tell I'm excited (not)! All the characters that came from the game belong to Disney and SquareSoft. The rest belong to little old me.  
  
"These suck!" Sashi yelled as she stood in the Coliseum.  
  
"You have on choice but to use them Sashi." Phill said to the complaining sixteen year old.  
  
"But... WHY?"  
  
"Well, you did throw the Lockblades away."  
  
"That wasn't my fault. It was in a fit of rage!"  
  
"But whose fit of rage was it?" Phill said, knowing he was going to win.  
  
"Well... it was caused by you and him!" Sashi pointed to Hercules.  
  
"Yeah, but whose fit of rage was it?" Phill repeated.  
  
Sashi didn't answer. She did make faces though.  
  
"Exactly. That's why you have to use those swords instead of yours. So get over it! Now, let's get back to work." Phill led the girls to the center of the Coliseum. "First you'll be fighting Noners."  
  
"What's a Noner?" Becky asked confused, holding the Keyhole.  
  
"A Noner is just like a human, but it's made out of magic." Hercules said.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"A Noner looks like a human, but it's not real. It can see, touch, bleed like a human, but it's not living."  
  
"Keep going. I think I got it." Sashi said.  
  
Hercules continued. "You can fight it, you can feel it, it can hurt you. But, when you kill a Noner, it evaporates into tiny specs of magic."  
  
"All right. I get it now." Sashi said, triumphantly.  
  
"Good. Would you mind explaining it to Becky, 'cause she looks clueless." Phill said as he saw the odd look of confusion on Becky's face.  
  
"Okay Becky..." Sashi thought a moment. "Think of it like a hologram that you can touch and can touch you back. Give it a sword and you got a Noner."  
  
"Ohh. Okay." Becky gave a goofy smile, nodding her head.  
  
"All right. She got it." Sashi said to reassure Phill and Hercules.  
  
"Good." Phill said sighing and rolling his eyes a bit. "Now, when you kill a Noner, it'll disappear pretty fast. So don't get scared!"  
  
"What do they fight after the Noners?" Dogan asked while he stood off to the side with Sora, Riku, Donald, and Goofy.  
  
"They don't need to know that right now Mr. Bogin." Phill said mockingly, not looking at Dogan and smiling to himself.  
  
"It's Dogan! Why does everyone have a problem with my name!?"  
  
"Okay, ready girls?" Hercules asked.  
  
They nodded.  
  
Hercules whistled and a man appeared. The first Noner. And he looked so real.  
  
"This one is for you Becky."  
  
Sashi stepped out of the way.  
  
"Wait! you never taught me how to use this! What's up with that!?"  
  
"You've gotta each yourself. You can't always rely on others. Now, the purpose of this is to use the Keyhole without getting red-eyed and scary."  
  
The Noner pulled out a blade and started to approach Becky.  
  
"Don't think! Just feel!" Hercules yelled as Becky began to back away.  
  
Those words saved Becky's life. Becky delivered a beautiful performance. She only got hit once. She also had to be saved by Hercules (who killed the Noner) but nonetheless, she lived.  
  
"Come on Sashi. Your turn." Phill groaned.  
  
Sashi didn't want to fight without the Lockblades. That's probably why she lasted only a minute before Hercules came to the rescue.  
  
Phill stood there, embarrassed. "Oh boy. We've got a lot of work to do Herc."  
  
----  
  
They returned to the hotel.  
  
Sashi was laying on the bed, while Sora sat next to her. Riku leaned up against the wall next to her bed. Donald and Goofy had already fallen asleep. And Dogan and Becky... well, Becky was laying on her stomach, reading the book Merlin gave them, which was on Dogan's lap.  
  
"Oh Sashi, look at this one!"  
  
"Becky, you've been at that book for an hour. Give it a rest!" Sashi pleaded.  
  
"Oh come one. One more!"  
  
"Becky, already we've enchanted Goofy with temporary healing powers, destroyed Donald's staff, and successfully transfigured the table into a Heartless. Which Riku had to kill. I've had enough. So if you find the spell to destroy the world and decide to read it, I'll know who to blame it on when I face God."  
  
"One more Sashi, please. I promise I won't destroy the world." Becky looked over at her friend with the famous puppy-dog eyes.  
  
Sashi sighed. "That's what you said when you accidentally flushed my goldfish down the toilet."  
  
"I was five!"  
  
"And I was very fond of Seamor!" Sashi saw Becky's face and had no choice but to give in. "All right One more."  
  
"Yeah! Okay, I pick..." Becky flipped through the pages and randomly stopped, "this one."  
  
The spell was written in gold letters, unlike the others spells that were written in black or red. Nonetheless, Becky read it. When they read spells from the book, Becky spoke in Heartless and Sashi translated. This was how it was done. They had no control over how it was read or who read what. The book made them do it.  
  
"Camees em Tell nesen vas."  
  
"Return to thee What was stolen."  
  
"El van asseet Jackena boroo raden memdos."  
  
"To the space Which shall be empty no longer."   
  
"Camees em Hawid peskin sheshnor galmet."  
  
"Return to thee The part of a person."  
  
"Tonos na kemos Kemat cannia."  
  
"That holds all life The Heart."  
  
Sashi and Becky didn't except anything truly magnificent to happen. They didn't expect Riku to become involved either. They were wrong of course.  
  
The ground shook. The air in the hotel room began to stir. Riku was somehow drawn to the middle of the room. So were Sashi and Becky. Sashi was situated on Riku's left side and Becky was on his right. All of a sudden, the girls' right hands began to glitter gold. They placed their hands on top of one another, Sashi's on the bottom. They held their hands about five inches from Riku's chest. the part of his shirt that covered his heart started to burn away. It left a hole big enough for the girls' hands to touch nothing but skin. And that's exactly what they did. They placed their right hands on Riku's flesh. As much as Sashi and Becky tried to pull their hands back, something kept them on Riku's body. Riku didn't look to thrilled about all this either. And all the others just stood their with odd expression of confusion and awe on their faces.  
  
The glitter seemed to seep into Riku's skin. he made expressions that suggested pain. The glitter kept seeping into Riku's skin. At the same time, Sashi and Becky's hands never moved.   
  
Once again, the ground shook. The air stopped stirring. The girls hands were released from the spell. Becky took her hand away, but Sashi kept her's on Riku's chest for a moment. As soon as she let go, his shirt was restored. Sashi backed away.  
  
Riku grabbed his chest. He never took his eyes from Sashi's though. He kept his eyes fixated on hers.  
  
"Well, that was unexpected." Becky announced.   
  
"Yeah, but what happened?" Dogan asked.  
  
Sora looked at the book to see the title of the spell. "I can't read this. It's all in that Heartless language."   
  
"Weren't you listening!? 'Return to thee.' 'The Heart.' That was the spell to give someone back their heart." Becky said.  
  
There was a cold silence after that. It was only broken when Sashi posed a question.  
  
"You were a Heartless?" she asked Riku.  
  
Riku didn't answer. He was still grabbing his chest.  
  
"Answer me!" Sashi yelled. "Were you a Heartless!?"  
  
Still, Riku didn't answer. Instead, he turned and left the hotel room. He ran down the stairs and wound up outside. He was breathing harder than ever and in a lot of pain.  
  
'I have a heart again.' He thought. 'What are Maleficent and Ansem gonna say. I'm not supposed to have a heart.'  
  
"Hey!"  
  
Riku turned around to see Sashi stomping out of the entrance door of the hotel. He didn't expect to see her again.  
  
"Don't run away while I'm yelling at you!"  
  
"Sashi... ow." Riku whispered. He stammered a bit and collapsed.  
  
"Riku?" Sashi knelt down next to him. "Riku? Riku, what's the matter?" She shook him a bit. His skin was so cold. He was breathing too slow. "Oh shit! Come on Riku! Wake up!"   
  
He didn't wake.  
  
"Please don't make me do this. Please."  
  
Still, he didn't wake.  
  
"Oh." Sashi stuck out her tongue a bit and moaned. She leaned down slowly and put her tongue back in her mouth. She closed her eyes and placed her lips on Riku's. She blew out, into Riku's mouth. Becky walked out and stared at what Sashi seemed to be doing.   
  
Sashi came up. "That was the most disgusting thing I've ever done."  
  
"So, you do like Riku." Becky said.  
  
Sashi turned around and her mouth dropped. "Mouth to mouth resuscitation! Not Kissing!"  
  
"Whatever you say Sashi."  
  
The others came out of the hotel (even though Sashi threatened them all not to move from the room).  
  
"Riku!?" Sora yelled as he saw his friend on the ground.  
  
On impulse, Sashi placed both hands on Riku's chest. She pressed down hard with one quick push and a flash of light came from her hands. Another piece of magic she didn't know she had in her.  
  
Riku took a deep breath and opened his eyes. The pain left his body. He stood up. He expected a hug or something for not dying, but he got the complete opposite. He was slapped across the back of the head.  
  
"Don't ever run away from me again when I'm yelling at you!" Sashi yelled.  
  
"Okay." Riku squeaked.  
  
"Were you a Heartless!? Yes or no!"  
  
Riku paused. This time, he decided to answer. "Yes. I was a Heartless."  
  
Everyone but Sashi gasped.  
  
"Captain R.H. was a Heartless?" Dogan asked.  
  
"Be quiet Dogan."  
  
"Okay Becky." Dogan back off.  
  
"Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you tell me?" Sora asked.  
  
Riku just stood there, looking at the ground.  
  
"I think we'll leave you guys alone for a while." Dogan said. So, Dogan, Goofy, Donald, and Becky left to go back upstairs. Sashi stood off to the side.  
  
"I'm sorry Sora. I didn't wanna tell you."  
  
"Why? You use to be able to tell me anything."  
  
Riku sighed. "I was afraid."  
  
"Of what?"  
  
"I was afraid that if you found out I was a Heartless again, you'd kill me or something."  
  
"Even so, you could never drive Sora to kill you. Sora's too good for that. Not even the devil himself could make Sora harm you." Sashi said as she leaned up against the wall of the hotel.  
  
"Yeah Riku. You're my best friend. I couldn't hurt you for anything. Besides, you got a heart now." Sora smiled at his weary friend. Riku smiled back. And Sashi, off to the side, Smiled to herself.  
  
'Oh, isn't that cute.' Sashi thought to herself when she saw the two boys join hands shake.  
  
Sora walked toward the hotel, stopped, and turned to Sashi. he placed his hand on her shoulder. He smiled. That smile was better than any thank you anyone in the world could give. He walked inside.  
  
Riku walked over to Sashi.  
  
'Apologize and maybe she'll forgive you. Someday. A long time from now. Maybe not.' Riku thought and sighed.  
  
He looked at her for a long time, not knowing how to tell her. Sashi watched him battle for his words. Just as he was about to apologize, she spoke.  
  
"By the way, a life of a life. I don't owe you no more."  
  
Riku looked confused. "You're... you're not mad at me?"  
  
"Oh I'm mad at you. It's just... now I know why."  
  
"Why what?"  
  
"Why you were such a pervert before." Sashi accented the word 'pervert'.  
  
"Oh, okay. It guess. So, are you gonna murder me or am safe?"  
  
"You're safe. For now." Sashi smiled and went inside.  
  
Riku smiled to himself as he watched her retreating back. "Cool."  
  
----  
  
Sashi stood on the edge of the cliff, looking out at the canyon she nearly lost her life in. It was about three o'clock in the morning and everyone else was back at the hotel sleeping. Sashi had been there for a good hour.  
  
"Lockblades!" Sashi yelled.  
  
The Lockblades were currently still missing. They were down in the canyon somewhere. The only thing was, Sashi didn't know where 'somewhere' was. It was strange. Ever since she threw away the Lockblades, she felt like she threw away a part of herself. The ironic thing about it all was that Sashi didn't even like those blades, let alone needed them more than anything. Or at least she thought she didn't like them. Either way, it was strange.  
  
"Lockblades!" By now, Sashi was just yelling to hear herself speak. She sighed.  
  
"You're doing it wrong." a voice said.  
  
Sashi turned around to discover Riku had been watching her. "How long have you been there?"  
  
"Fifteen, twenty minutes tops." Riku replied.  
  
"Oh. What do you mean I'm doing it wrong?"  
  
"You'll never get the Lockblades back that way." he said, laughing.  
  
"Well Mr. Know It All, you show me how to get them back without telekinetic powers."  
  
"Fine."  
  
Riku walked over to Sashi and faced her toward the canyon. He stood behind her.  
  
"Look at the canyon." he told Sashi.  
  
After giving him a wearying look, she complied. Riku took Sashi's left hand and held the back of it. He lifted her hand into midair.  
  
"Close your eyes." he said.  
  
Sashi looked into Riku's eyes for a moment. Then she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.  
  
"Now, what is the one thing you want most?"  
  
"The Lockblades." Sashi muttered. Then, she realized what she had just said. "I mean I wanna go home!" she opened her eyes and looked at Riku in earnest.  
  
"Close your eyes." Riku repeated. Sashi did. "Don't think. Just feel. Very important lesson to learn."  
  
Sashi relaxed. Riku placed his right hand on Sashi's bare stomach. She placed her's on top of his hand. "Now, what is the one thing you want most?"  
  
'Don't think. Just feel.'  
  
"The Lockblades."  
  
Sashi and Riku's left hands began to glow gold again. Sashi slowly opened her eyes. All of a sudden, the gold glitter began to take the form of one of the Lockblades. It became solid and was the real thing.  
  
Sashi lifted her other hand. The same thing happened. She gripped the Lockblades in her hands tight.  
  
"Umm... how?" she whispered as she gazed at the Lockblades.  
  
"I thought you'd ask that." Riku smiled. "You're a Protector. These are your weapons. You can't have one without the other. So, you've got certain magic in you that brings the Lockblades to you no matter where they are. They're a part of you. Got it?"  
  
"Yeah. How do you know all this?"  
  
"Everyone knows the story of the two Protectors of the Kingdoms who will someday come and save us all from evil. Of course, the story goes that the Protectors would be two strong and handsome men. And on one of their brave and dangerous rescues, they save two beautiful princesses, fall in love, and live happily ever after. And they weren't called Protectors of the Kingdoms, they were called the Heroes of the Worlds. That's how all the parents on my island tell the story. Don't know how it goes everywhere else. I'm sure it goes about the same. Don't think anybody would think of telling it where the Protectors of the Kingdoms are two teenaged girls and one of them falls in love with a Doggy and other... the other is..." Riku paused and gazed into Sashi's eyes. All he wanted to say is that she was beautiful, but the word wouldn't come. "Well, you know, a boxing champion."   
  
'A boxing champion! Suave Riku, real suave. That'll win her heart." Riku thought.  
  
Riku still had his hand on Sashi's stomach. She smiled at him and began to silently laugh. Not because he had helped her, but because he was all right now. Actually, he wasn't half bad. Riku smiled back.  
  
Sashi put the Lockblades in the holsters on the sides of her belt. She was still smiling at Riku. Jokingly, Sashi pushed Riku's cheek and he stepped back. She walked away from the ridge and turned back.  
  
"Wait, does this mean I owe you again?" she asked.  
  
"Oh yeah. Big time."  
  
"Damnit. You know, it I keep having sudden fits of rage, I'm gonna owe you a lot by the end of this." Sashi walked off, sighing.  
  
Riku kept watching her until she was completely out of sight.  
  
"All right, she likes you. This is good." Riku said, putting his hands behind his head and walked off.  
  
----  
  
Riku was happy. Sashi was happy. Everyone was happy. Everyone except the very person who had witnessed Riku and Sashi's little 'puupy-love' scene. As a matter of fact, she thought it was down right revolting.  
  
"But he's MY Riku!" Akida yelled as she sat on top of a cliff, looking down at the ridge. "Mine!" She was furious. "My Riku! No touch my Riku!"  
  
Akida was nearly falling off the cliff because she was leaning over to see Riku. "No!" Akida yelled again. Riku don't believe her! She's put a spell on you!" Riku didn't come back. "At least come back and let me look at you!" She cried in frustrated agony of defeat and desperation. He still didn't come.  
  
"Fine! If she's what you want, then she's what you'll get!" Akida smiled while she plotted her despicable plan, step by step. "Of course, she'll be me." Once again, she gave an evil smile. She started to wander off into the darkness of her mind. Her evil smile became bigger and bigger by the minute.  
  
"Wait." Akida stopped. He smile disappeared. She looked scared. "What if Maleficent and Ansem find out? She ordered me to track Riku and his friends. That's what I gotta do then. I can't disobey her. Especially because of him." Akida turned back around. She stopped. "But he's my Riku. Mine! Mine! MINE! I can't allow him to just fall in love with that Protector. Maleficent doesn't need to find out. And if she does, she'll understand." Akida smiled and turned around again. Once again, she stopped. "Or maybe she wasn't. She saved my life and raised me, I owe her my allegiance. I can't go. But I wanna go. But I can't go! And I still wanna go!"  
  
Akida laid down on the cliff in frustration. She closed her eyes and sighed. "Servitude to one and love for another are not two things to mix."  
  
She got up and looked both ways. She looked toward where Riku was. "Stay?" She looked the other way. "Go?" She continued this. "Stay? Go? Stay? Go? Ohh!" She was boiling over in madness and obsession.  
  
Akida's eyes turned red and she took out her ax. "I don't care!" She said, walking away. "I'm going to Halloween Town."  
  
And that's exactly what she did. She started off of Halloween Town. But, why Halloween Town? Halloween Town was the only world that had it. The only world that had the potion she needed. The potion that would make her exactly what Riku wanted.  
  
----  
  
Sashi finally feel asleep. Riku didn't though. He didn't want to sleep. Sleep never came to Riku quickly before, why should it now? This allowed Riku to think though.  
  
Riku put his palm on his chest and felt his heartbeat. "Wow." he whispered. This was the first time in years that Riku was able to feel his own heart. It was the first time in years he could say he actually had a heart.  
  
He looked over at Sashi and watched her sleep. 'I'm not supposed to be doing this. I'm not supposed to be feeling this. Hell, I'm not supposed to feel at all. I gave up feeling a long time ago. I gave up feeling when I gave up my heart. But now I have a heart. I have my heart.'  
  
Riku took a deep breath and sighed. He kept watching Sashi sleep.  
  
"Stop being so pretty." he whispered at Sashi.  
  
And that was it. Riku was falling in love. Things wouldn't be that simple though.  
  
AN: It's so adorable! Riku's not a sick minded pervert Heartless anymore! Yah! And Akida is just soooo cool. Hope you guys like Trapped Within the Kingdom so far. Then next couple of chapters cough chapter 11 cough are gonna be really cool. And at the same time depressing. And at the same time tear-jerking. And at the same time... getting ahead of myself. You'll just have to wait. See ya! 


	10. Sixteenth Kill, Sixteenth Year

Sixteenth Kill, Sixteenth Year  
  
Every character that was introduced in Trapped Within the Kingdom only belongs to me and me alone. The rest belong to SquareSoft and Disney.  
  
It had been a good month since the seven companions had found themselves in the Olympus Coliseum. A month since Sashi and Becky's training begun. And the longest month of Phill's life.  
  
"These girls are gonna be the death of me." Phill said to the side.  
  
Sashi and Becky were in the middle of the Coliseum; weapons out and Noners and Heartless surrounding them on all sides. Exactly four Noners and six Heartless.  
  
Their eyes were drooping, mostly because it was five-thirty in the morning and they hadn't gone to bed until one-thirty the night before. Other than that, they were just tired of training.  
  
"Go!" Hercules yelled from the side of the Coliseum.  
  
And the battle begun.  
  
Sashi and Becky charged the enemies. One by one, they picked off the Noners and Heartless. Limbs of the Heartless and specs of magic went flying through the air as the two teenagers slaughtered their victims.  
  
"Go faster! Go faster!" Phill cried out.  
  
"Go faster!? Okay Phill, you try to speed things up when... whoa... you're fighting off four Noners... ow... and six Heartless... arg... when a mini-goat man... ah... is yelling at you to go faster!" Sashi screamed.  
  
"No thanks. And it's still not fast enough!"  
  
"Oh! Evil mini-goat man slave trainer!" Becky yelled.  
  
"Faster!"  
  
Ten minutes went by, and the Noners and Heartless kept dying and coming back for more.   
  
"Hey Becky! Eleven!" Sashi yelled out, smiling. (Eleven meaning eleven kills so far.)  
  
"Ha, I win! Sixteen!" Becky chuckled as she pierced a hole through a Noner's stomach.  
  
"Sixteen!? Becky stop!!" Sashi demanded in shock. She sounded extremely serious.  
  
"Why!?"  
  
"Just stop!" Sashi demanded again.  
  
Becky stopped immediately. "And what am I supposed to do about the two Noners charging at me!?" she said sarcastically.  
  
Sashi looked over and raised her right hand. Quickly, it glowed with the same gold glitter it glowed before. Sashi moved her hand in the air from the left side of her body to her right in a second. This was one of the many forms of magic she had been taught that month. She had gotten really good at it too.  
  
The Noners' stomachs were sliced in half and the disintegrated into specs of magic. As for the Heartless, the magic had frozen them in time. They stood in the middle of the Coliseum like small statutes placed in random spots for decoration.  
  
As soon as she was finished, Sashi ran over to Becky, fell to her knees, and hugged Becky's legs.  
  
"Sashi, what are you doing!?" Becky asked, more confused than ever.  
  
"I'm sorry! Don't hurt me please! I didn't mean to forget! I'm sorry!" Sashi sounded paniced.  
  
"Sorry? Sorry about what?"   
  
Sashi let go of Becky's legs and slowly stood up. She looked as though she was ready for Becky to hit her.  
  
"You really don't remember?" Sashi asked.  
  
"Remember what?"  
  
Sashi sighed and smiled. "Happy sixteenth birthday Becky."  
  
----  
  
"Can I help you miss?" the shop owner asked.  
  
"I came in here about a month ago. You said you didn't have my potion in stock and told me to come back today." the teenaged girl.  
  
"Oh, it's you. I see. Come with me please." the shop owner led the black haired girl into a back room.   
  
The shop owner was a pudgy, little warlock. He had a straggly, gray hair. He wore a large black and pointy hat and a frayed black cloak. He cloak covered the rest of his clothes, so they weren't noticeable. Also, he walked with a bit of a limp on his left leg.  
  
When they came to a small office, the shop owner stepped behind a small desk. Behind him were shelves upon shelves of potions and elixirs. He took down a small tube filled with a light green liquid. Once again, he faced the girl.  
  
"I must remind you miss that this is an extremely dangerous potion to sell. Not to mention illegal. Do you still want to purchase it?" the shop owner asked, hoping his customer would change her mind.  
  
"More than anything."  
  
The girl took the tube from the shop owner's hand. She smiled mischievously as she examined the tube.  
  
The shop owner kept his eyes on the young woman. She had pure black eyes and black hair done up in many small braids. Her entire attire was just as black as her eyes. Her shirt had a number of tears in it with two chains. one chain ran side to side across her lower stomach and the other ran vertically from her necklace and attached to the middle of the first chain. Her sleeves went down to her wrists and then looped around her middle finger. Her pants were cacky style and the darkest form of black there could possible be. The girl's pants had slits at the knees that went from side to side. On either side of the two slits was connected a chain that dangled on her knees. Her belt was, of course, a large chain. Connected to the belt on the sides of her waist were, yet again, two chains. For shoes, the girl wore black leather boots. And slung on her back was a huge black ax.  
  
"May I ask why the young lady wants this particular potion?" the warlock asked examining her thoroughly.  
  
"You can ask. I won't answer, but still, you can ask." she never made eye contact with him. "How much?"  
  
"Quite a bit miss." the shop owner said.  
  
The girl slammed down a pile of munny onto the desk. for the first time, she looked at the tiny warlock. "Will this do?"  
  
The shop owner cracked a smile onto his pale face. "The young miss knows how to do business. Yes, that'll do fine."  
  
"Now, I know it doesn't cost this much, so listen up you little wart. Half of this munny is for the potion. The other half is so you keep your big mouth shut. Do you understand?"  
  
The shop owner nodded. He didn't really seem ti care much about what his customer was saying though.  
  
The young woman grabbed the little warlock's cloak and lifted his up to her face. "I don't think you do. So, I'm gonna use small words so even a cockroach like you ca understand. if you breathe a word to anyone about my buying this potion, I will personally slice you into thin stripes and feed you to a Heartless. Am I making myself clear maggot?"  
  
"Oh... oh yes, miss. Per... per... perfectly." the shop owner stuttered.  
  
"Good." she let the terrified warlock down. "I'll take my leave then."  
  
The teenaged girl stuck the tube in her pocket and left the office. She exited the shop and walked down the streets of Halloween Town. As she walked, Akida smiled to herself deviously.  
  
----  
  
"A birthday party?"   
  
"Yeah. You do know what a birthday party is, don't you?" Sashi asked, dumbfounded.  
  
"I can guess what it is but... why?"  
  
"You've never had a party on your birthday?"  
  
Sora nodded his head.  
  
"What kind of world do you live in boy!?" Sashi asked.  
  
Sora looked very confused. What had he done wrong?  
  
"Oh boy. Okay, a person had a birthday party to celebrate the day they were born. That person invites people to come to the party. Those people bring gifts for the person whose birthday it is."  
  
"Okay, I guess." Dogan said, scratching his head.  
  
"So, we're gonna throw Becky a birthday party because it's her birthday. Okiday?" Sashi spoke very slow so the boys would understand everything.  
  
"If we don't say yes, will you yell at us again?" Dogan asked.  
  
Sashi sighed. "I have to plan my best friends Sweet Sixteen while I'm surrounded by idiots." She placed the side of her face in her palm. "Come on boys, we have work to do." Sashi started to walked out onto the street towards the shops.  
  
"What about Becky?"  
  
"Don't worry. I've got everything under control. Becky is with Phill, Riku, Donald, and Goofy. They're staying at the Olympus Coliseum. Hercules is coming with us to shop. Becky thinks we're training. Got it?"  
  
The two boys nodded.  
  
Again, Sashi sighed, and led the boys into the first of many shops.  
  
----  
  
Becky, Riku, Donald, and Goofy trudged back to the hotel room around six. They entered the building, waved to the owner, and headed upstairs.  
  
"I wonder if Sashi and the others are back yet?" Goofy asked.  
  
When Becky opened the door, the room was pitch black; the windows were covered with heavy drapes and none of the candles were lit.  
  
'I guess they're not back yet.' Becky thought.  
  
All of a sudden, the room became illuminated by dozens of candles. Sashi, Sora, and Dogan came out from behind the door. There were colored streamers (made of yarn) handing from the ceiling and the walls. There was a banner that read "Happy Sweet Sixteen" on it. And on the table was a pie with sixteen candles in it.  
  
"Surprise." Sora and Sashi yelled.  
  
"Happy sixteen sweets!"  
  
"Dogan, it's Sweet Sixteen." Sashi said, correcting the young wizard.  
  
Becky laughed. "Yay!"  
  
"Do you believe that these people do not believe in cake." Sashi announced. "But never fear, for the pie is cherry."  
  
"So Becky, you wanna do presents or pie first?" Sora asked.  
  
"Present!"  
  
Sora stepped forward. "This is from me and Riku."  
  
Becky smiled and Riku gave a small wave. She took a small box from Sora's hand. She looked at it in glee and hopped over to the bed. She sat down and opened the box.  
  
"Ohh. Pretty. What is it?" Becky look at the gift in confusion.  
  
"It's one of those plant thingies! Oh, from the beginning of the game! Oh, I know this! It's a... a..." Sashi stammered to remember the name of the star-shaped fruit Becky was holding.  
  
"It's a paupo fruit." Sora answered.  
  
"I knew that!" Sashi claimed.  
  
"If two people share a paupo fruit, their destinies are intertwined. They stay apart of each other's lives forever." Riku said.  
  
"Yay!" Becky yelled, jumping for joy on the bed. "I got a paopu fruit! I got a paupo fruit!"   
  
"Who ya gonna share it with Becky?" Donald asked.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"I know who." Riku said, smiling.  
  
"Oh yeah. Who?" Becky said, still jumping on the bed.  
  
"Everyone knows your gonna share it with Doggy." he said pointing at Dogan, who was standing next to him.  
  
"Well at least I got someone who'd share it with me Captain Raging Hormones." Dogan said under his breath. Everyone heard him though.  
  
Riku turned toward Dogan. They looked like the were ready to kill each other.  
  
"Hey! Hey! This is my birthday party, not a boxing match. Now separate you two or do I have to tell mommy?" Becky said, stepping in between the two teenaged boys.  
  
Dogan stayed where he was and Riku moved over and stood next to Sashi.  
  
"Next present!" Becky said, smiling once again.  
  
Goofy stepped up. "Ah, here ya go Becky. From Donald and me." Goofy handed her a piece of folded paper. "Sashi said ya always wanted 'em."  
  
Becky unfolded the paper. It read: "Dear Becky, Happy Birthday." Below that were Donald and Goofy's signatures.  
  
"Oh, I got Donald and Goofy's autographs! The real ones! Yay!" Becky jumped of the bed and hugged Goofy. She ran over to Donald and also hugged him. "You guys rock!"  
  
After a moment of confusion, Sashi tugged on Becky's belt loop. She turned around and faced Sashi.  
  
"Here ya go. Me and Dogan got you this." She handed Becky another box. Becky resumed her position on the bed and opened the box. Becky looked at the present and an even bigger grin took shape on her face.  
  
From the box, Becky pulled out a dark green cloth.   
  
"It's a..." Sashi started.  
  
"A bandana! Yes! And yay! I'll be able to see now!" Becky folded the bandana and tied it on her head.  
  
"Look, I got one too." Sashi said, pointing to the black bandana she had on.  
  
"Yippy!" Becky yelled as she began to jump on the bed once again. "I got presents! I got presents! And pie! With candles!"  
  
"You wanna make a wish or not." Sashi said.  
  
"Wait, she's gotta make a wish? You never told me about making a wish. Am I supposed to do something? What does she make a wish on?"  
  
"Dogan, Dogan! Calm down! You're not supposed to do anything but sing happy birthday. And she makes a wish when she blows out the candles. Breathe Dogan. In, out, in, out." Sashi said, trying to successfully calm down her paniced friend.  
  
"Sing?" he said, still extremely confused.  
  
Sashi have a huge sigh and dropped her head. "Dogan," she picked up her head, "just keep going la la la."  
  
So, they gathered around the pie and Becky sat down. Sashi waved her hand over the pie and the candles lit up with a green and yellow flame. Sashi then began to sing.  
  
"Happy Birthday to you.  
  
Happy Birthday to you.  
  
Happy Birthday dear Becky.  
  
Happy Birthday to you."  
  
Sashi put her mouth to Beck's ear. "Make a wish." she whispered.  
  
Becky closed her eyes and made a wish. She opened them and blew out the candles.  
  
"What did you wish for?" Sashi softly asked smiling.  
  
"Every year you ask me the same question. And every year I give you the same answer. Not even torture by crazed summo-wrestling ostriches would make me say."  
  
"Oh oo. Becky, yer hand's glowing again." Donald blurted out.  
  
And it was. Becky's right hand was glowing red. Oddly enough, so was Dogan's.  
  
"What is it? I didn't say a spell." Sashi said, worried about what was happening to her two friends.  
  
"I didn't do it." Becky said, paniced about why her hand was sparkling red.  
  
Becky and Dogan's hands were brought together. Suddenly, a low, deep, and mysterious voice seemed to come from the specs of red magic.  
  
"I don't understand it." Sora said.  
  
"Shh, be quiet. It's in Heartless." Sashi said, trying to catch every word she could.  
  
"Lethan athena belonases. Quiyenten... edethan shambatel... dagoodded onokaro... mysth..."  
  
The voice disappeared. So did the red specs of magic.  
  
"What did it say?" Sora whispered in utter disarray.  
  
"I didn't get it all, but it said something about never parting and true love." Sashi answered. A second later, she realized what she had just said. "Becky, what did you wish for!?"  
  
Becky shrunk back behind Dogan. "Nothing." she squeaked.  
  
"Nothing! What do you mean nothing!? How do you explain the whole red hand, scary voice dude thing then!?" Sashi yelled a bit annoyed.  
  
"Impulse Magic." Riku whispered in awe.  
  
"Impulse Magic? What the fuck is Impulse Magic!?" Sashi asked even though she really didn't want to know.  
  
"Impulse Magic is a form a magic that you can't use a spell. It happens by itself. In a way, Impulse Magic is kind of a wish that you make that automatically happens. Also, Impulse Magic only works for people who were born with it and only if they truly want something with all their heart." Riku explained.  
  
Sashi's eyes widened. "Becky, what did you wish for!?!?"  
  
"I swear it wasn't anything bad."  
  
"Tell me!"  
  
"No! It won't come true if I tell you!" Becky said.  
  
"It already came true! What did you wish... ah." Sashi stopped. She began to feel weird. She expected she was having another vision.  
  
Becky also began to feel weird. She and Sashi were having a vision.  
  
A few seconds went by before they both yelled out they place they would go to next.  
  
"Agrabah!"   
  
Sashi and Becky were both breathing hard and stammering for balance.  
  
"What happened this time?" Sora asked, knowing exactly what had just happened.  
  
"Agrabah? Are you sure it was Agrabah?" Dogan seemed paranoid.  
  
"Yes Dogan, we're sure it was Agrabah."  
  
"Are you absolutely..."  
  
"Dogan! It was Agrabah." Sashi said.  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"There was a lot of sand. And we saw the sultan's palace and the flying carpet. What's wrong with Agrabah?"  
  
"Nothing." Dogan said, backing off. "I'm gonna go to bed now." He sat down and pulled the blanket over his head.  
  
"Right." Sora said, confused.  
  
So, they decided ti save the pie for breakfast and go to bed.  
  
----  
  
It was one-thirty in the morning before Dogan finally took the covers off his head.  
  
Becky had fallen asleep on the big chair on the other side of the room. Quickly, Dogan crawled over to the chair. He looked at Becky and leaned in toward her.  
  
"Becky?" he whispered. "Becky?"  
  
She didn't move.  
  
"Becky, wake up."  
  
"Ugh." Becky moaned.  
  
"Becky. Becky, wake up."  
  
"Becky is not here at the moment. Please leave a message after the beep." No beep followed.  
  
"There wasn't a beep." Dogan whispered.  
  
"That's the whole point Dogan. Go back to sleep." Becky demanded in a whisper.  
  
"But I need to give you something."  
  
"I'm sure it can wait until normal hours."  
  
"No it can't."  
  
Becky turned over and face the grey-eyed boy. "be aware that I will be forced to slap you across the back of the head if this isn't a direr emergency."  
  
"Don't worry, it is. You can slap me anyway, but it is. Here." Dogan handed her a small white box.  
  
Becky stared at it for a second the opened it. She gasped.  
  
"Is that a 'Oh my God, it's pretty' gasp or a 'Oh my God, that's the most hideous thing I've ever seen in my life' gasp?" Dogan asked.  
  
"Dogan. It's beautiful. How did you get it?" she asked in wonder.  
  
"Well, while Sashi was shopping, I took a very long, extended bathroom break. I found it, and I thought of you. So, I got it." he made a goofy smile and blushed a bit.  
  
Becky lifted a small bracelet out of the box. The chain was silver and had two identical charms on it. They were two keys with hearts as handles.  
  
"Here." Dogan took the bracelet from Becky. He took her hand and put the bracelet on her.  
  
"Dogan." she whispered. Then Becky flung her arms around Dogan's neck. She held on tight and soon Dogan put his arms around her waist.  
  
'Now if only Sashi could sleep forever. If she did, Becky would never have to let go.'  
  
----  
  
"Will someone please go get Captain Raging Hormones." Dogan pleaded.  
  
Everyone else was at the market place. They were buying some last minute provisions for Agrabah.  
  
"I'll go get him." Sashi said. She walked toward the hotel to retrieve Riku. He was currently still sleeping.  
  
Sashi walked into the room and squatted down next to Riku. "Riku?" She said poking him. "Riku. Wake up." She poked him again and again but he didn't wake. "Riku! Ahh!"  
  
Riku rolled over and kicked her legs. She fell to the ground and was then tackled  
  
"Ha! I win!" he said as he pinned Sashi.  
  
"That's what you think."  
  
Sashi began to fight back. After a few minutes of the two teens wrestling, Sashi pinned Riku.  
  
"Give!" she yelled.  
  
"All right, all right. I give!"  
  
"Ha ha! I reign supreme!"  
  
And for the next forty-five minutes, Sashi and Riku sat and down.  
  
----  
  
"Sashi?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Who would you share the paopu fruit with?" Riku asked.  
  
"Don't know. I couldn't share it with Becky because, face it, she ain't never leaving me. I rock!"  
  
"All right. If not Becky then who?" he asked again.  
  
"I don't know. Maybe I'd bring it back home and give it to may parents."  
  
"Your parents?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Would you ever share one with me?"   
  
"No." Sashi answered quickly.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I wanna go home."  
  
"So." he said, still confused.  
  
"If I shared a paopu fruit with you, I'd never get to go home. Or, you'd have to come back with me. No offense, but you would never survive in New York. Besides, it's not like you'd share one with me."  
  
Riku paused. "Fine!" He stormed out.  
  
"What did I do!?" Sashi yelled, running after Riku.  
  
"You're so... oh... Why do you have such a problem trusting other people!?" he was pissed off by now.  
  
"What are you talking about!? I don't have a problem trusting people! You have a problem realizing that I don't belong here! I belong in New York!" She argued.  
  
"Well, you know what, ten minutes ago, I would have shared a paopu fruit with you. But now, I can see that you are nothing but a hopeless little lost girl with no feelings!"  
  
"Even if you did wanna share one with me, I'd like you to know that I'd rather share a paopu fruit with Donald!" Sashi was red and way too pissed off. (AN: Anger management skills not working!)  
  
"And I'd like you to know that I'd rather share a paopu fruit with a Heartless than you!"  
  
That was it. Sashi burst into tears and picked up a chair. With all her strength, she threw the chair at Riku, missing only by inches.   
  
Back outside, everyone was waiting.  
  
"I wonder where Sashi's gotten to?" Becky asked.  
  
All of sudden, Sashi came storming out of the hotel.  
  
"I found her!" Dogan announced.  
  
"Sashi, what's the matter?" Sora asked as he saw the tears running down her cheeks.  
  
Riku then came out of the hotel.  
  
"I hate you!" Sashi yelled as she passed Becky and kept walking,  
  
"I hate you too!" Riku yelled back as he stood next to Becky.  
  
"May you forever burn in the eternal flames of Diablos Riku!"  
  
"You too!" Riku screamed back.  
  
"You don't know what that means!"  
  
"No I don't! Becky, what does that mean?" he asked turning to the confused girl.  
  
She paused a moment. "Go to Hades Riku." She said at last.  
  
"Now I do!" Riku yelled at Sashi, who was currently out of sight.  
  
"You asked Becky!"  
  
"How does she do that?" Riku said.  
  
"Don't ask me. The all-knowing Sashi knows everything." Becky said.  
  
Everyone, still confused about what had just happened, followed Sashi. Riku walked the other direction. Fortunately, Sashi was walking east, which made everything easier. They stopped walking after twenty minutes.  
  
"Segelath. Benthemor. Rohoo. Mentenaroo." Dogan said each work slowly. He seemed afraid to do the spell. But why? "Segelath. Benthemor. Rohoo. Mentenaroo."  
  
AN: Well, Dogan obviously doesn't like Agrabah. wink wink. But I won't tell you. You'll just have to keep reading. And for those who are not reading my fanfic grrrr will never know who Dogan really is. 


	11. One Past, Two Paths

One Past, Two Paths  
Disclaimer! Disclaimer! All characters that are mine are mine and the rest are not. They belong to Disney and SquareSoft.  
  
Becky lay on the sand unconscious surrounded by her friends, who were also unconscious. She must have been laying there for hours. She would drift in and out of random dreams. Some about Nick and Ruby, some about her trips with Sashi and Lee to the Dog Agility Trials, and others about Dogan.

In a state of half consciousness and half unconsciousness, Becky began to think.

'Will the Impulse Magic ever allow Dogan and me to be separated'

'I wonder what will happen to all of us when this is over'

'Why was Dogan so jittery about coming to Agrabah'

Slowly, Becky slipped into consciousness. Everyone else seemed to be coming out of it as well. She noticed that two of her companions were missing. One was Riku, but he hadn't come with them so he was supposed to be gone. The other... the other was Dogan. Where could he have gone?

Sashi slid across the sand over to Becky's side. "Morning." she said, rubbing her eye.

"Dogan's not here." Becky said.

"He's not?" Sashi looked around. "He's not. Where is he?"

By then, Sora, Donald, and Goofy had realized Dogan was missing too.

A voice came from behind a tall rock. It was a recognizable but not one they had encountered yet. Also, there were sounds of someone sobbing. The five friends got up and stood behind the boulder. They wanted to get a better hear on what was going on.

The voice became clear. Sashi and Becky could make out every word it said now. They listened hard and inattentively and tried to figure out what the hell was going on. And maybe, to find out where Dogan had wondered off to.

"Come now my boy. It would be fun. Think of it, you'd be telling the truth for once. Dogan my boy, you'd actually be doing something good. I bet that would make you feel much better about your past. Wouldn't it?" The voice was harsh and mocking. The good thing about it was though was that they had found Dogan.

"Please, just go away. I've got nothing to do with you anymore. I've changed Jafar. Go away." Dogan was the one sobbing.  
Sashi, Becky, and Sora poked their heads around the rock. It was Jafar, as a genie. He was huge. And on the sand in front of him, on his knees, was Dogan.

"Changed!? Do you think that a person like you could ever change? I thought I taught you better than that Dogan. You, change? Ha! That Merlin seems to have filled your head with utterly ridiculous dreams that will never come true.

"Don't speak that way about my boss! He save me! And he did change me!" Dogan sniffled and cried a bit. "Go away Jafar. I beg you. Leave me alone. Go away." "Dogan?" Becky stepped out from behind that boulder. Sashi and the others followed.

Dogan turned around to see his friends starring at him. His eyes were red from teats and his shirt was soaked. "Oh shit." he whispered.

"Ah, so these are your new friends. A dog, a duck, a Keyblade master, and two girls. Interesting selection Dogan."

"Dogan, what's going on?" Becky asked.

"Becky, I can explain."

"Yes, Dogan, why don't you explain? I'm sure your friends would love to hear of your... amusing past." Jafar said smiling.

"Your sick!" Dogan yelled.

"Not as much as you, my boy. Let me remind you that I had nothing to do with your first two victims." Jafar's evil smile grew. "You did that all by yourself. That would be about eight years ago, I think. Seven years ago you came to me, so it must be eight, right?"

Dogan could do nothing but cry.

"Well, I leave you to your story time then. Good bye Dogan my boy. You haven't changed at all Dogan. You would still kill on command. Ha!" Jafar's laugh continue. He disappeared but his laugh lingered in the air.

All eyes were then turned to Dogan.

He got up and faced his friends.

"What was he talking about Dogan?" Becky asked almost in tears herself.

"There's a lot of stuff I never told you guys about me. About my past. About what I was before Merlin found me two years ago." He whipped his eyes and nose.

"What happened before Merlin found you?" Sashi questioned.

"A lot of shit. And I guess you'll wanna know about it. Before I tell you anything, I want you to know that I have changed. And also, that I'd never hurt you. I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid. I'm sorry."

"Dogan? What happened?" Sora whispered.

"All this crap began when I was eight. I had a family then you know. They were pretty cool too. My mom was a human named Gisel, and my dad was a wizard. His name was Dragin. I had a sister too. A younger sister. She was my twin. Her name was..." Dogan didn't say. He tried his best not to cry. He cleared his throat and went on. "We lived on Hallow Bastin.

"One day, my parents went out for the day. So, me and my sister stayed with our neighbors. when they got home, they didn't seem themselves. They claimed that they just had a bit of a headache. They told us to go play outside. Me and my sister went to our tree fort in the woods. we stayed there for hours." Tears streamed down his cheeks. The others still didn't get it. He continued. "When we finally came out of the woods, it was dark. Even though we really couldn't see anything, we knew something was wrong. it was too quiet and it was never that dark.

"We started to walk toward our house. As we did, my sister tripped over something. Then I heard her scream. I looked down at what she had tripped over." While Dogan told the story, it played through his head like a movie, bringing back old pains and regrets. "It was our neighbor. He was dead. My sister and I looked around only to see the bodies of countless other people in our town. Terrified, we ran home. We yelled out for our mom and dad, hoping they were still alive. We raced into our house and straight into the kitchen. And there they were; alive. They were standing by the table, back to me and my sister. My sister yelled out for them. They turned and faced us. Their eyes were flame-red. On their shoulders there was a wound that was surrounded by black.

"We asked them what was wrong, but they didn't answer. That's when we it. They had blood on their hands. Behind them was a jar filled with black smoke labeled 'hearts'. I asked them is they were responsible for everyone's death, but they still didn't answer. That's when they came after us. I took my sister's hand and we rant through the house trying to his from our own parents. We ran into their room and tried to get out the window. They caught up with us though. We locked them in there and ran into the kitchen. I closed the door and told my sister to hid in the cabinet above the fireplace. Before I joined her, I grabbed two, large kitchen knives. When she asked me what they were for, I just told her to keep quiet." Dogan's heart was beginning to tear from all the pain of reliving his past.

"We heard them break down the door and enter the kitchen. They called out our names and my sister held on to my arm tighter than ever. They stopped moving, they stopped speaking. I peeked out the cabinet. They were facing the other direction right in front of us. I saw these really strange looking daggers in their hands. I didn't know what to do. I knew what those daggers were for and I wasn't gonna let that happen. So, I lifted my arms, put them next to my parents, and...." Dogan stopped. He closed his eyes, holding back the tears. He reopened them and swallowed. "And I put holes through my parents' hearts. My sister screamed. My mom and dad dropped to their knees. I dropped down next to them. And they look normal. Their eyes were blue and they looked normal! And I stabbed them with kitchen knives! And then they apologized to me! They laid down on the floor. Blood was pouring out of their chests. I laid down next to my dad and my sister laid next to my mother. Next morning when we woke up, they were dead.

"That afternoon, me and my sister packed our things and left. All we did was wonder for days. We stopped only when a storm hit. I got real sick. My sister never left my side though. Until.... until _she_ came. She came from the blackness in the sky. She came close to us and knelt down next to me. She placed her pointer and middle finger on my forehead. Then she sis the same to my sister and spoke to her. Sh told her that I would die soon. She said the only way she wouldn't die as well was to leave me and come with her. My sister didn't want to though. She held on to me tighter. The woman grabbed my sister's arm and puled her away. She struggled, but she was too weak. I tried to help, but I couldn't move. The last time I saw my sister was when she was sucked into the darkness. "I laid there for days not wanting to move at all. There was nothing left to live for. That's what I thought at least. After awhile, I realized that I had to go look for her. So, four days after my sister was taken and nine days after I killed my parents, I swore revenge. I got up; I got better. After a year of traveling, I wound up in Agrabah. Jafar found me and took me in. He trained me in the ways of black magic. All the hatred and revenge in my heart made me easy to control by the darkness. "For five years I was Jafar's servant. His minion. His personal bounty hunter. I was the one sent out to do his dirty work. I stole. I cheated. I hunted. I killed innocent people. And the worst about it was.... I didn't care." Dogan couldn't look at his friends anymore. He was too ashamed. Becky and the others couldn't believe what they were hearing. Dogan, a murderer? It couldn't be. But it was.

"I went and slaughtered whole towns to satisfy Jafar. In return, I got to live. For five years I did this. Day after day. Week after week. Month and month. And I didn't give a shit about anything I was doing. All I knew was as long as Jafar sen me out, I could look for my sister. After a few years, I realized that I'd never find her. She was gone and it was my fault. I didn't do anything to help. I let her go and I killed my parents. There wasn't anything to live for anymore. "I decided that I had to leave. Jafar beat me for thinking leaving him, but I didn't care. I could stay anymore. So, I left one day. I wondered into the middle of the desert. I knew that if I stayed out there long enough I'd eventually die. Slowly and painfully, just as I dissevered it. That's when Merlin came in. He found me and he saved my life. He took me. Hell, he even made me his apprentice." Dogan cried, picking up his head. "Now you know. I'm sorry." Dogan ran off, not want to turn back and face his only friends again.

"Dogan!" Sora yelled.

"Dogan! Stop! Come back!" Sashi cried out.

"No....no....that's.... that's not true." Becky stammered in complete shock.

They all stood there, shaking and tearing. There was no way to take this new information easy. Everything they thought of Dogan was now changed. "But it is." Sashi admitted quietly. "That's Dogan's past."

Hiding in the shadows, a tear rolled down Riku's cheek. "Poor Doggy." he whispered, wiping away the tear.

Riku wasn't the only one listening in though. Akida sat on top of a boulder out of sight, but still in hearing distance. "I remember that girl." Akida said. "Too bad she's gone. Come to think of it, she's been dead for years. Oh well."  
-  
Dogan walked on."I knew it was a bad idea to come here! I knew this would happen!" he yelled in anger.

"Oh come on Dogan. Things aren't that bad."

Dogan whipped his head around and saw none other than Ansem. "You. You're the one that my parents worked for."

Ansem nodded. "I'm also the one who made them do all those things to those people. you saved me a lot of work you know. They were going to have to die anyway. So, you actually helped me in the end. Thank you. Now.... you have to die."

"Not is I have anything to do with it." Dogan fumed as he took out his crossbow. "You'll die first bastard!!"

Dogan charged at Ansem. His efforts were worthless though. All his bolts missed Ansem completely. Not because he had bad aim, but because Ansem was cheating. He was making the bolts miss to him using magic.

"Give up boy, you'll never win."

Dogan didn't. He kept on fighting. Not for his life, but for revenge.

But, just as Ansem had said, his attempts were worthless. Dogan was thrown to the sand. Ansem stood over him and unsheathed a dagger."You remember this dagger boy." Ansem said as he ran the dagger down Dogan's cheek. "It's the same one I gave your parents. This one was actually given to your mother I think. It's the same one that gave them those strange wounds on their shoulders. You remember, don't you boy?" The dark man leaned in and laughed at the poor, defenseless boy beneath him. "And now.... it'll be the one that kills you." With one swift move, Ansem drove the dagger into Dogan's stomach. "Hurts, doesn't it?"

Dogan felt a surge of ice shoot through his body. Ansem pulled out the dagger. No blood appeared out of the hole in Dogan's stomach. Instead, it began to become surrounded by black mush.

"Goodbye Dogan. Oh, and before you die, I want you to know something. You should know that your sister died well. And the last thing she thought of was you."

Ansem got up and walked away, leaving Dogan in the middle of the desert to die.  
  
AN: Dogan!!!!!!!! No!!!!!!!!!! Will he die, or be miraculously saved by...... someone!? You'll never know! Unless, you wait for the next chapter and keep reading. Mwhahahahaha!!


	12. Almost Lost

_**Almost Lost**_

_You all know the deal. The newer characters are mine and all the other ones belong to Disney and SquareSoft_

Night fell on Agrabah.

"How do you think Dogan's doing?" Sashi asked, staring out into the desert with a strange glaze still over her eyes.

No one answered.

"I'll take that as a 'We'll let him alone for a little while longer, then go find him' silence." She nodded as she watched her friends get ready for bed.

Sora, Becky, Donald, and Goofy lay down next to a blazing fire. No one had spoken since Dogan had left, save Sashi. A questionable haze lingered over them. How could Dogan, clumsy, bubbly Dogan, have ever been an assassin? How could he have done all those things he said; betrayal; theft; mass murder? The bigger question on everyone's mind was could Becky go on feeling the way she did about Dogan now knowing what he was.

"I still don't believe it." Sora whispered to the fire.

Sashi sighed and stood up. She picked up her cloak and put it on. "Go to sleep Sora." she said.

Sora turned over on his side and pulled the covers over his head.

Sashi stared off into the desert again. She put her hands in her pocket and sighed. Another sleepless night and now Dogan. This was beginning to get ridiculous.

"Aren't you going to sleep Sashi?" Becky finally spoke.

"I'm gonna stay up a little longer. Make sure the fire goes out, and, you know, keep an eye out for Dogan. Go to sleep Becky."

"Not until you tell me why you aren't gonna sleep." She answered.

Sashi kept silent.

"Sashi?"

"Good night Becky." Sashi persisted.

Becky obeyed. This was not the time to get into a fight. Especially one with Sashi. That was suicide in itself. She turned away from the fire and "fell asleep."

Sashi took another deep breath and cleared her mind of her friends, along with everything else around her. She expected the fire to go out by itself. She knew she wasn't all of a sudden going to see Dogan waltzing back, but it gave her an excuse not to sleep.

Sashi hated sleep. This place didn't allow it to come easy to her, and when it did, there was nothing more heartbreaking. Sleep would bring more pain than a thousand Heartless wounds.

She stayed up for hours, not realizing how the time flew by. She made no sounds or movements. This is basically how she spent all her nights, or at least as many as she humanly could. Every night since the opening of the Heartless book back on Destiny Islands.

There had been no reason for Sashi to snap out of this hypnotic state she put herself into. Until… well… who else…

Sashi turned around and found herself face to face with none other that Donald and Goofy.

"Whoa." Sashi jumped back, falling onto the sand. "What are you guys doing up?" she whispered, trying not to wake up anyone else.

"We could ask you the same thing." Goofy said.

"Huh?"

"You've been up all night Sashi. Why aren't you sleeping?" Donald asked.

"I guess I just wasn't sleepy." Sashi lied, picking herself up off the sand and brushing herself off.

"Then I guess you haven't been sleepy since we left Destiny Islands." Donald said, cleverly.

Sashi looked down at Donald. She put a finger up at an attempt to counter act this statement, but nothing came. She bent down.

"I have underestimated you duck. You're smarter than you look."

"That's Mr. Duck to you kid."

"Why haven't ya been sleeping Sashi?" Goofy asked. "And tell the truth."

Sashi gave in with great disappointment. "I don't sleep anymore."

"Why?"

"I don't wanna sleep."

"Why." They persisted.

Sashi crossed her arms and seemed to be repressing tears. "Every time I fall asleep, I have these dreams that I can't explain. Then, when I wake, I'll have forgotten something."

"Forgotten what?" Goofy asked, getting up and standing next to her.

"Something about my home."

Donald and Goofy looked at each other, puzzled.

"I can't remember the name of the street I live on. I can't remember the color of my room. I can't remember my favorite stuffed animal that I've had for forever." The tears began to fall from her soft, green eyes. "And I'm afraid that I'm gonna start forgetting more important things."

"Like what?"

Sashi wiped away her tears. "The name of my dog; the way my brother sounds when he laughs; the way… the way my mom looks. I don't wanna forget those things. They're all that's keeping me alive!"

Goofy placed his arm around the girl. She laid her head on his chest and cried a bit.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Donald asked.

Sashi picked her head up and wiped her nose. "Didn't want anyone feeling bad for me. Everyone has their own problems, I just didn't want to add anymore stress into there lives by having to feel sorry for me."

"You should have told us anyway." Goofy said.

Sashi stood up. "Listen, I'm gonna go take a walk."

"Then you're going to sleep. You look exhausted." Donald demanded.

"Okay, I promise. Be back in a bit."

Donald and Goofy watched Sashi walk off into the distance, and soon disappear. They rolled over and fell back asleep.

----

Sashi walked for about ten minutes, her mind miles away from where she tread. Beginning to feel a bit better, Sashi decided to turn back. She didn't get very far though. As soon as she rounded a large boulder, Sashi found a Noner standing a few feet from her.

"Noners? I thought I left you guys in the Olympus Coliseum?"

The Noner unsheathed a blade and charged at Sashi. The girl quickly ducked out of the way, moving to one side. The Noner faced her again.

"Is this some sort of sick and twisted joke Phill and Hercules are playing on me?" she asked the desert air.

The Noner charged at her again. And again, Sashi ducked out of the way of the blow.

"All right mister," Sashi took out the Lockblades form her belt, "you asked for it."

Sashi twirled the Lockblades around in her hands and the Noner attacked. The Lockblades moved faster than they had ever before. Even though Sashi was fighting her hardest, the Noner's blade was only missing her by seconds. She couldn't understand it. She had never seen a Noner fight like this before. The Noners she fought in the Olympus Coliseum had fought as if trying to save their own lives. This Noner, this Noner fought differently. As if it was sent out for a single purpose: to kill Sashi. And what was with that odd blade? All Noners had the same sword and that wasn't it. Of course, that was in the Olympus Coliseum. This was Agrabah.

Frustrated and annoyed with the Noner, Sashi drove one of her blades into its stomach. Nothing happened though.

"Okay…" she said, confused. "Why are you not disappearing?"

Sashi drove the blade deeper into the Noner's stomach. It merely looked at her with somewhat of a smile on.

"Disappear damnit!" Sashi screamed.

The Noner grabbed the blade and pulled it out, pushing Sashi back. The Noner attacked again, but Sashi blocked it. She spun a Lockblade and jabbed the Noner's blade out of its hand. Its blade flew into the air, Sashi placed one of the Lockblades back into its sheath, and she caught the Noner's sword.

"Ow!" Sashi yelled and quickly dropped the blade. She looked down at her hand, discovering that her finger tips had been burnt badly. She could feel the part of her hand that was covered by her glove burn as well. She let out short gasps of pain, trying to control it. "What the fuck was that?"

The Noner approached the sword and picked it up. Nothing happened to it; why wasn't its hand burning?

"What the hell kind of blade is that?" she yelled, figuring the Noner was not going to answer her though.

The Noner stepped closer and closer to Sashi. She kept in time with the Noner; for every step it took toward her, she took two steps back. The Noner jabbed its blade at Sashi, who deflected the blow but just barely.

"Unfair! I've only got on blade to work with!"

The Noner came after her again. Sashi played with the idea of just turning and bolting away. But she couldn't do that, she couldn't run away. So, she tried fighting with one Lockblade and a burning hand. After a few minutes, Sashi was able to drive her sword into the Noner's stomach again. And again, nothing happened.

"Oh come on! What is this shit? Disappear already!"

Sashi yanked her sword from the Noner's stomach. She merely stared at the Noner for a moment, contemplating what to do next. Without a word, Sashi turned and ran. She flew passed boulders twice her size, dodging around corners. The Noner followed. As she turned the ninth corner, there was a pile of sand directly in front of her.

"Oh this is just peachy." She heaved.

Sashi turned back around and the Noner stood there.

"Oh boy…" the young woman sighed, and charged at the Noner.

Sashi's blade and the Noner's blade flew through the air. Sashi kept her hand tucked close to her stomach.

"Sashi move!"

Sashi whipped her head around. "Riku! What the hell are you doing here?"

Riku jumped down from the pile of sand. "Saving your life." He said, pulling out a Keyblade. "Again."

Riku charged at the Noner, joining Sashi in her struggle to defeat it. Even though the two blade masters currently hated each other, they were doing pretty good.

"Why isn't it dying?" Sashi yelled, ducking down to avoid another blow from the Noner's sword.

"Where have you been hitting it?"

"The stomach. Arg!" she ducked down again.

"No. You've gotta hit its heart."

"Really?" Sashi said in amazement. Sashi stuck the Lockblade into the Noner's chest where a heart should lay. Within seconds, the Noner disappeared. "That definitely worked."

Breathing heavily, Riku placed his Keyblade back in its sheath. He walked over to Sashi and took her hand that had been burned. Sashi quickly recoiled her hand and tucked it close to her stomach again.

"Give me your hand Sashi." He heaved.

"Why?"

"You are a duel wielder Sashi. You don't fight with one hand on your own free will. Let me see your hand." Riku insisted.

Sashi looked down at her hand then back up to Riku. She reluctantly gave Riku her hand. Riku examined her hand.

"What the hell happened?"

"The Noner's blade burned my hand when I touched it." She said. "Take off my glove. I think it's all burned."

Riku nodded and unlaced Sashi glove. He looked up at Sashi, a weird feeling begin to rise in the pit of his stomach. He shook his head and dismissed the feeling. He took the glove off and examined her hand again. Sashi's entire hand was bright red.

"All right." Riku said, ripping off a piece of his cloak and pulled out a water canteen. He poured some water onto the piece of cloth and placed it on Sashi's hand.

Sashi snatched her hand from Riku's grasp again. "Ow…"

"Come on Sashi."

"That hurt."

"It will hurt even more if you don't let me fix it."

Sashi, a regretful and annoyed expression forming on her face, gave her hand to Riku. He wrapped the cloth around her hand and it back to Sashi.

"Thanks." She said.

"Your welcome." He grunted. "What were you doing out here all by yourself anyway?"

Sashi grabbed her glove back from Riku. "Walking."

Riku nodded, yet didn't say anything back. A moment of silence went by and Sashi began walking back toward the camp. Riku followed her, a few steps behind.

"I'm sorry." Riku finally said, breaking the silence. "I didn't mean anything I said."

Sashi smiled, looking up at him. "Yes you did. I just didn't want to believe you. It's the whole Irish thing, stubbornness and anger management problems."

Riku slid up next to Sashi and the two walked on.

----

"What's that?" Sashi said as she and Riku walked passed the open desert.

In the middle of the vast amount of sand was a small black smudge lying there, motionless.

"Don't know."

Sashi stopped, her curiosity getting the best of her. She cupped her hands over her mouth and yelled out across the sands. "Hello down there! Are you alive?"

"Sashi, what if it's not alive?" Riku asked a bit embarrassed though there was no one else there. "How could it answer? And what if it was never living to begin with? What if it's just a rock of something? Rocks or somethings don't speak, ya know."

Sashi thought about this for a moment. "If you're not alive of if you can't speak, you don't have to answer!"

Riku sighed, turning away from Sashi. "How do you even manage to get yourself dressed in the morning girl?"

"That's none of your business." She laughed, watching Riku begin to walk.

Once again, curiosity took over Sashi. She glanced back at the black smudge just for one last look. A strong wind blew across the desert and finally the black. Something moved, as if the black smudge was merely a cover over something else. Sashi crouched down and peered harder, straining her eyes for a better look. Again, the black moved. This time revealing a hint of dirty blonde hair. Sashi jolted up.

"Shit." She whispered, and ran off into the desert toward the black.

Riku looked back to discover that Sashi was no longer there. "Sashi? Sashi?" Riku look about and saw the girl racing off into the open desert. "Sashi? What the hell are you doing girl?"

"Riku! Hurry up!" Sashi yelled back, picking up her pace.

Riku started running, though the reason was still unknown to him. What was it? His eyes darted across the sands until they met the black again. Although, it was not all black now. "Shit."

Sashi ran faster that she had ever before. He mind was racing as well, trying to keep up with her feet. There had only been one other time in her life she had run this fast. That memory was all that seemed to be clear at the moment. She was thirteen. She, Becky, and Todd were in the field across the street from her house. Todd had just turned three and for his birthday he had received a brand new blue bouncy ball. That kept him occupied as Sashi and Becky threw the baseball to each other. At a moment of stupidity, Sashi turned away from Todd. Overjoyed with his new toy, Todd threw the ball behind him and it rolled into the street. Only being a child, Todd did not care where it went. He followed his ball into the street. Sashi finally turned back around to find her three year old brother walking in the middle of the road. The question still comes up sometimes when the day recalled: Why, when it had never happened before, why that day did a truck have to come speeding down her quiet street? Sashi made no attempt to yell to Todd, so she ran. Faster than she had ever run before. If she had been two seconds slower, Sashi would now be an only child. That's the way she ran now. A life was at stake.

Riku caught up to her. The two came to a sudden stop, Riku sliding onto his knees.

"Dogan?"

Sashi quickly looked over at Riku. "What did you just call him?" she asked in amazement.

"Not now Sashi, Dogan's dying."

"You did it again!" She yelled. "Wait… what the hell do you mean he's dying?" Sashi looked back down at the boy. "Dogan! Wake up!"

Dogan did not move.

"How do you know? He might just be sleeping, ya know." She said, coming to tears.

"Trust me, when you've been in Kingdom Hearts as long as I was, you can feel death. And when it's coming." He answered, fiddling with his bag.

Sashi knelt down. "Dogan! Wake up!" she screamed. There was nothing else to do.

Amazingly, Dogan's eyes twitched a bit and opened. "Sashi?" he whispered. He took a few short gasps fro air and turned his eyes to Sashi. "Sashi, I need you to do something for me."

"Don't worry, we're fixing you now." She cried, taking his hand.

"No, there's nothing you can do." Dogan coughed.

"Don't say that! We gonna make you all right again."

"Sashi, it's too late. The poison is in me. There's no way to get it out." He breathed.

"Dogan…"

"Sh…," Dogan placed his palm on Sashi's cheek. "I know I'm not supposed to feel this, but… Sashi…" he stopped to breathe again. "Please… tell Becky…"

"Dogan." Sashi said, seeing the boy failing before her. "Don't…"

Dogan closed his eyes slowly and took his hand from Sashi's cheek. "I love her."

Dogan's hand dropped to the ground. Sashi began to shake uncontrollable.

"No!"

"Don't do this Dogan." Riku demanded, taking the cloak off of Dogan's body.

"Dogan, I promise, if you live I will let you date Becky!"

Riku eyes fell upon a deep cut in Dogan's stomach surrounded by black mush. The mush was almost completely covering his entire stomach.

'_That's no possible. I destroyed all those daggers.'_ He thought. "Sashi! Sashi!" he grabbed onto her and pulled her away. "Sit still."

"What are you doing?" she cried.

"I won't hurt him, I promise."

"What?"

Riku kept silent. He placed his right hand on Dogan's wound. He closed his eyes and began to whisper something. His hand took on an odd blue glow. One that spread across Dogan's wound. The black on the young wizard's stomach began to somewhat absorb into Riku's hand. Riku screamed out in quick shots as the black disappeared more and more.

"Riku?" Sashi yelled, taking hold of his right arm. "Let go! Stop!"

"Arg!"

Riku let go.

The black on Dogan's stomach was completely gone. The boy took a deep breath of air, opening his eyes to the two others. Quickly, he fell back against the sand and fell back into an unconscious state. Sashi picked him up and cradled him in her arms. Sashi turned her attention to Riku, who sat on the ground messaging his right hand.

"You realize what you just did?" she asked.

Riku stared at Dogan and nodded.

'I just saved Doggy's life…'

----

Becky lay awake on the sand, not wanting to move at all. All she could see was the pinkish sky as the sun began to rise over the sands. All she could hear was the snoring of Donald and Goofy.

She hadn't really been sleeping. She didn't want to sleep. Dogan was gone and that's all that mattered.

'Where could he have gone to? And where the hell was Sashi?' she thought.

All of a sudden, a faint sound came from the desert. A voice that seemed rushed yet familiar.

"Sashi…" she gasped, jumping up.

"Come on Dogan. Walk for Christ's sake. Please."

Another voice came. Riku's.

"Come on Doggy. You can do it. Put one foot in front of the other!"

"Dogan." She whispered. "Sashi!"

"Becky?"

"Where are you?"

"Over here!"

"Where's here?" Becky yelled back, searching the desert frantically.

"Oh, we're not hard to find. Two teen Keyblade masters carrying an unconscious Doggy in the middle of the damned desert!" Riku shouted, his voice rising with each word.

Sora rolled over. "What's going on?" she groaned. "Why are Sashi and Riku dragging Dogan along the sand?"

Becky spun around and saw exactly that. She quickly ran over to them and took Riku's spot, holding onto Dogan tightly.

"What happened to him?" she yelled frantically, placing him down on the sand.

"He almost died." Riku replied calmly, kneeling down next to the boy.

"What do you mean he almost died?"

"It means exactly what it sounds like. Doggy almost died."

"Now you're back to calling him Doggy?" Sashi whispered.

Becky placed her palm on Dogan's cheek, tearing streaming down her face. "How?" she whimpered.

"He was stabbed by a Teronothanea Dagger." Riku replied, placing a blanket under Dogan's head and another over his body.

"A what?" Sora questioned, watching Riku fuse over Dogan.

Sashi got that feeling again. The one where she thought she knew that word yet knew she had never heard it before. It was a Heartless word for sure, but she paused anyway, waiting to see what Riku said next.

"A Teronothanea Dagger." He repeated, and then finally looked up at Becky. "Teronothanea… it's a Heartless word. It means chaos till black death."

Sashi blinked, amazed Riku knew this. "How do you know it's a Heartless word?"

Riku froze, realizing what he had just done. _'Shit… shit…'_ he thought. Quickly, he thought up something stupid, yet believable. "I don't. When I was following Ansem in Kingdom Hearts, he used to say it so I figured it was a Heartless word. And he said it in both languages, so I figured it meant the same thing." He lied. It was harder than he imagined it would be. Lying had been becoming a more difficult thing to do now that he had his heart returned to him. And he didn't like it.

"Chaos till black death? What's that supposed to mean?" Sashi asked.

"It's called a chaos till black death dagger because that's what it does. Before Ansem was locked in Kingdom Hearts, he was able to create a new way of stealing a person's heart. One that was more painful than what a Heartless could do and it guaranteed that the heart and the body could never be rejoined. When a person is stabbed with one of these blades, you're consumed by it. It creates a black mush on your body and takes over. Eating you away, slowly. As soon as it's consumed your entire body, your heart goes to Kingdom Hearts. But your body… your body dies. Guaranteed never to be able to rejoin with the heart. A lot of work went into these beauties. My parents outdid themselves. But it turned on them. Ansem turned on them. Their creation became their downfall. Their deaths. Almost led to mine too."

Becky sprung up, leaping toward Dogan. Sashi quickly grabbed the back of her shirt.

"Don't jump on him Becky. He almost died." Sashi said, pulling her friend back. She stood there, thinking for a moment. "Wait a minute, how long have you been awake."

Dogan slowly stood up, with Sora's help.

"Since about 'Dogan, walk for Christ's sake' and 'Put one foot in front of the other'." He answered.

"And you made me carry…" she growled, approaching the gray-eyed boy.

"Now, now Sashi." Becky said, holding onto Sashi's shirt. "He almost died." She mocked.

Sashi stood in front of the boy, crossing her arms. Dogan prepared himself for a punch or a slap, but received neither. Sashi simply stood there, silent.

"A bounty hunter, huh?" she said finally.

Dogan nodded, lowering his head.

Sashi gave away a small smile. "Last fucking person I would have expected. You pulled it off pretty well Dogan." She laughed, punching Dogan's arm lightly.

Dogan stood in utter confusion. "So you're not mad at me."

"Any one of us would have done the same thing Dogan." Sora spoke softly.

"If I had lost my parents; Todd; my entire life in a matter of days, I would have killed to make the pain go away. Any of us would have."

"Yeah… what she said." Riku added.

"…Okay…" Dogan stuttered. "So…"

"Just forget about it Dogan." Sashi said. "Let the dead bury the dead. You shouldn't have to anymore."

Dogan merely stared at Sashi for a moment, a weird smile forming on his lips.

"That was good." He said.

"Wasn't it?" Sashi replied, smiling as well.

"I was inspired." Sora added in.

Dogan smiled, knowing that this was a turning point of his life. Sora patted him on the back and walked over to talk to Riku. Dogan watched as Becky smiled at him and went over to the boys.

"You know, I know you were conscious then." Sashi said quietly, standing next to Dogan.

"Huh?"

Sashi kept her eyes forward and her face straight.

"Take advantage of my permission now Dogan. I won't be giving it again."

That's all Dogan needed to hear. Smiling again, he left Sashi's side and approached Becky.

Sashi watched as the two spoke softly.

_'I think I did the right thing.'_ She thought. _'Yeah, I did the right thing.'_

Peaceful silence passed over the travelers, only to be broken by the waking of the lone slumberers.

"What's going on?" Goofy asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah, what's all the noise about?" Donald said.

"Nothing." Sashi laughed. "Just go back to sleep."

AN: All I can say is I'm sorry to all who waited for this next chapter. I feel the deep regret in my heart and express my deepest apologies. The next chapter, nor any to follow, will ever take that long to be posted. I thank you.


	13. Scars for Remembering

_**Scars for Remembering**_

_These are getting really annoying… All old characters are theirs and all new ones are mine._

Akida smiled as she saw Riku enter a small tent on the outskirts of the city walls from atop them. The seven travelers had set up camp there, not wanting to draw any attention to Becky and Sashi. Dogan was still in slight recovery as well.

The sun was shinning directly above the young henchman's head. She had been there since the sun had risen that very day, watching the travelers.

_'This is it.'_ She thought to herself. _'Today I get what I deserve. Today I get…'_

"Riku." She laughed sinisterly. Unintentionally, Akida spun around, beginning to jump up and down in tiny circles, clapping her hands and giggling to herself. Catching herself, she returned to watching the group.

"Where is she?" she muttered, searching around the small tent area. "Where is she?"

"Sashi!"

Akida jumped as she heard Becky's voice ring out in the silence.

"Sashi! Hurry up!"

Sashi quickly emerged from one of the tents, pulling out her Lockblades and frantically searching for Becky. "What? What is it?"

Akida watched as Becky and two other figures walked toward Sashi.

"Becky, don't do that to me." Sashi said, placing the Lockblades back on her sides.

"I'm sorry." She apologized. "Look who's here."

"It's a great honor to meet the Protectors of the Kingdoms."

Sashi stood speechless for a moment. "It's a great honor to meet you, Princess Jasmine." Sashi bowed. "And you too, Aladdin."

"They've invited us to stay in the palace." Sora said, running over to them from the city gates.

"Really?"

"You girls don't deserve to sleep outside in tents. Besides, it's not everyday the Protectors of the Kingdoms come to Agrabah." Aladdin said.

Sashi looked over at Becky, who looked over at Sora.

"All right. I'll go get the rest of them." Sashi said, running off to the tents.

Akida bit her lip, sighing heavily. "This could complicate things a bit."

Within a few minutes, the seven travelers were inside the city walls, following Aladdin and Jasmine to the palace. Akida stormed over to a small stone staircase and descended. When she reached the sand road, the young woman fastened her cloak and pulled her hood up.

"She's gotta go and make this difficult, doesn't she? She just can't stay in one place." Akida grumbled.

She quickly grabbed a small dagger from the holster in her boot and began to follow the travelers down the back road. She tucked the dagger into her sleeves, passing by allies looking out at the main road. As soon as Sashi come into view, Akida ducked down one of the allies.

"Wait, say that again. The guard actually… umph." Sashi fell to the ground, as well as another person.

"Sorry miss. My fault." The stranger replied, assisting Sashi to her feet then skulking off.

Sashi felt a sharp sting on her arm. Something dripped down the side of her palm. She looked down and saw a red liquid fall from her finger.

Akida walked away briskly, allowing a red fluid on her dagger to drip into a small tube.

----

The light green liquid looked absolutely vial in the tube. Akida shook it as she took out another tube with a think red liquid inside of it. She sat upon on a roof of one of the taller buildings. She smiled to herself as she uncorked the tube of red liquid and slowly poured it into the other. A puff of gray smock came out from the tube as the liquids met. The red liquid didn't mix with the green liquid, but rather created a level on top of it. From her back pocket, Akida pulled out a small piece of crumpled paper. She smoothed out the piece of paper as best she could to reveal two lines of words written in silver. Akida held the tube up to her face as she read the words from the paper.

"Mix and stir the blood of one

Whose shape I will take when these words are done."

The two liquids began to mix, and formed a new, dark green one. This substance looked even more vial that it had before, giving off an odd and unpleasant scent. Akida stared at the tube in absolute disgust.

"Here goes nothing." She gulped, grabbing her nose and closing her eyes.

In one quick gulp, Akida downed the mixture. The liquid tasted horrid as it slowly slid down the young woman's throat. She took the tube away from her mouth and opened her eyes. Nothing seemed to have happened. Everything was the same.

"Mix and stir the blood of one

Whose shape I will take when these words are done." She repeated, annoyed that nothing had occurred.

Still nothing happened.

"Mix and stir the blo…"

Akida felt her stomach lurch. The world around her became blurred as her arms and legs seemed to become heavier. She stumbled about a bit, dropping the tube. As soon as the glass tube broke upon the roof, Akida's knees gave out and she fell to them. Everything went silent and her sight gave away to complete blackness. She breathed hard into the floor, feeling something begin to move inside her chest. Something she had not felt in ages. A heart beat.

Slowly, her vision returned as well as the sounds around her. Her arms and legs strengthened again and she stood up. She shook her head lightly, touching her fingertips to her temples. When Akida opened her eyes, something was not the same. Her sight felt different, as if she were looking through another person's eyes. She noticed that she was wearing a pair of gloves that she had never seen before on her. Black fingerless gloves that went all the way up to her elbow, creating a point at the end. She removed her hood, discovering a piece of cloth wrapped onto her hair. A single strand of hair lay on her cheek. A single strand of _blonde_ hair; not black hair, but _blonde_.

Astonished, and a bit frightened, Akida ran to the ladder and climbed down the building. When she reached the ground, she sprinted over to a waterhole. She stood back from it for a moment, holding her breath. She slowly crept up to the hole and peered down into it and saw her reflection. Or rather, saw Sashi's reflection.

"It worked." Akida whispered. "It worked."

Akida stepped back and ripped open her cloak. Instead of finding her usual all-black attire, she found a pair of dark jeans and a silver shirt and cut off above her stomach. Smiling greatly to herself, Akida ran off through the city.

"He's mine."

----

"I'm off to bed." Riku said, getting up from a cushion on the throne room floor.

"Night." Sora laughed, watching Sashi and Becky attempt to stay on the magic Carpet as it sped around the throne room.

"Night Riku!" Becky and Sashi yelled, grabbing onto each other and onto Carpet.

Riku smiled, shaking his head at the two girls. '_And these are the ones who will save us all.'_ He thought, and left the room.

Riku walked down the long stone corridor, coming to his room. He pushed the large wooden door open and entered. The room was dark save the moonlight coming through the window near his bed. The young man plopped himself down on his bed and closed his eyes. He placed his hand on his chest and felt his heart beating within him. He enjoyed listening to his heart. He enjoyed thinking about how and who had given it back to him even more. It relaxed him in a way he had not be able to feel in years. Yet, tonight he could not reach this relaxation. Something was wrong. Something was in his room. Or someone.

Riku lay still, keeping his eyes closed. It moved closer to the bed, inching toward him slowly. Riku sprang from his bed, sharply placing a dagger on the figures throat.

"That was very stupid of you." He threatened.

The figure kept still. He, or she, wore a black cloak with the hood up. Riku reached behind the figure's head and pulled down the hood. The young man quickly removed the dagger as his eyes adjusted and the figure's face was visible.

"Sashi." he gasped, and then paused for a moment. "Please don't hurt me!" he shouted, dropping to his knees.

Sashi said nothing. She gently placed her hand under Riku's chin and he came to his feet. She smiled, running her hand down his chest. Riku stared at her in utter confusion.

"Um… Sashi… what are you doing?"

Sashi came in closer to Riku and placed her lips upon his. When she pulled back, Riku stood there, stunned.

"Uh… you… um…" he stuttered, opening his eyes. "Woof…" he stammered, now living up to his new nickname.

Again, Sashi pressed her lips against Riku's. For a moment, Riku did not resist, taking in the pleasure of her kiss. But, he soon pushed Sashi away, holding her shoulders.

"Wait, not that I'm not enjoying this, but who are you and what have you done with Sashi? You know, the one that hates the very air I breathe?" he questioned.

Sashi remained silent. Provocatively smiling at him, Sashi backed away, turned, and began to walk to the other side of the bed.

"Sashi, please don't play with me like this. I'll wind up doing something I know I shouldn't." Riku begged softly.

Sashi turned her head back to Riku, raised her hand, and beckoned him to come to her.

"Shit…" he sighed.

Riku scrambled over his bed toward Sashi, breathing heavily. Sitting on his knees, he placed his hands on her waist and pulled her in. The two kissed again. Sashi wrapped her arms Riku as he began running wet kisses down her neck. Riku whipped Sashi around and down onto the bed.

'_I'm dreaming… I'm dreaming…'_ Riku thought, feeling Sashi's body rub against his own. _'I shouldn't be doing this. Shouldn't be doing this.'_

Riku pulled back. "Wait, this isn't right. You wouldn't do something like this."

Sashi stared up at the boy, her smile disappearing. In that instant, Riku noticed something he had not before. He was no longer staring into the soft green eyes of the young woman he had grown to know. Now, he stared into two dark and cold black eyes. Eyes he knew all too well.

"Akida…"

"You know Riku," Akida sighed and waved her hand through the air, sending Riku flying back into the wall, "you've got to complicate things, don't you?"

Riku picked up his head, furious. But before he could take a step, Akida thrust her hands toward him. Riku flew back into the wall, his hands and feet somehow chained to it. The more he tried to free himself, the tightly the magical chains became.

"Akida…" Riku shouted.

"Now, now, now Riku. You don't want anyone to hear you, come in, and find out you've been harboring the enemy." Akida mocked, smiling slyly.

"Akida, I'm going to kill you." He gritted, beginning to struggle again.

"I know my love." Akida whispered, running her hand down Riku's cheek. Reaching his throat, Akida gripped her hand tightly around it. "Now, I gave you the chance to have me, no questions asked. Why didn't you take it?"

"I hate you." He gasped, struggling for air.

"You don't hate Sashi."

"You're not Sashi."

Akida tightened her grip. She leaned in close to Riku as she spoke again. "I am just as much of Sashi as the real thing. I gave myself to you willingly. You took me last time. Why wouldn't you take me this time?" she questioned. An awkward smile formed on her lips, bringing her mouth to Riku's ear. "You remember how much you wanted me before? How good we were together? You wanted me then."

"The only reason I wanted you then was because I was a sick, perverted Heartless. You were the only teenaged person of the opposite sex I have seen in nine months. I'm a guy, what did you expect?" Riku forced.

Akida laughed. "You do remember." She whispered.

"I try to forget." Riku answered.

"No you don't. You treasure every moment we spent together."

Riku's thoughts traveled back tot a time in Kingdom Hearts. That horrid night he had spent with Akida. The more he thought, the more realized that he had wanted it. He had wanted her. Every part of her. And it disgusted him.

Riku was quickly brought back to reality as he felt Akida slam her fist into his chest.

"Now do you want me?" she questioned as Riku tried to double over.

Riku coughed into the air, keeping quiet.

----

"Becky, don't stay up too late. We leave tomorrow." Sashi reminded her friend as she exited the throne room.

"Night Sashi!" Becky yelled, as she and Carpet sped passed the door and out the window again.

Sashi laughed quickly as she walked down the long corridor toward her room. She soon came up to the room where the boys were staying. She stopped and stared at the door for a moment, trying to decide whether or she wanted to go in. Convincing herself that she didn't want it, Sashi turned around. Again, she walked down the corridor to her room. But not more than a few seconds passed before Sashi stopped and turned back to look at Riku's door.

_'To go or not to go. That's the question.'_ She thought, biting her lip. Inhaling deeply, she nodded. "Go."

Sashi approached the door and raised her hand. Something stopped her from knocking though. A sound from inside the door; something that sounded like someone punching another person. Quickly, Sashi pressed her ear against the wood. Someone was being beaten in there. But who? Only Riku had gone to bed, everyone else was in the throne room still. Panicing, Sashi slowly opened the door a crack and peered in.

Riku stood, chained against the furthest wall from the door. And in front of him stood a stranger wearing a black cloak that oddly resembled Sashi's. Sashi watched as the stranger threw their fist into Riku's stomach and then whisper something into his ear.

"Shit…" the young Protector whispered, closing the door. She quickly pulled out one of her Lockblades and materialized herself, leaving behind nothing be the shadows.

"Now do you want me?" Akida repeated. Before she could throw her fist into Riku's stomach again, she felt the tip of a blade on the back of her neck.

"You have two choices: let him go or die. Make your choice." Sashi breathed.

"Sashi." Riku whispered as blood trickled from the side of his mouth.

The figure did not move. Sashi pressed her blade against the stranger's neck harder. The figure finally began to move back.

"Turn around." Sashi demanded.

The figure slowly turned to face the young woman.

"Hands on head."

The stranger did as she was told. Sashi watched as the figure lifted its hands to its head. Her eyes squinted in confusion as she noticed that the stranger was wearing gloves identical to her own. The stranger placed its hands atop its head and waiting.

"Who are you?" Sashi asked, holding the Lockblade up to the stranger's chest.

"You."

Sashi titled her head in confusion. "What?"

"You." The stranger repeated.

Riku breathed heavily as he hung from the wall. Words escaped him. Even if he had the capacity to speak at the moment, what would he say? Sashi, thing is Akida, my past evil lover who has come to kill you in a jealous fit of rage? Best thing was to accept that he had been beaten to hard to speak. Knowing the young Lockblade master as he did, Akida had no chance against her.

"You try my patience stranger. Tell me what I want to know."

Beneath her hood, Akida smiled. "You're afraid."

"I'm what?" Sashi spewed. "How am I afraid?"

Akida's smile grew. "I'm unarmed and yet you still have both your blades out. I must frighten you a great deal for you to need those out."

Not thinking very clearly, Sashi tossed her Lockblades to either sides of the room. Being played with was one thing, but Sashi could never stand being called afraid.

"Tell me who you are."

"I told you already. I'm…"

Before Akida could finish her sentence, Sashi curled her fingers together and threw her fist into her stomach. Akida fell back, grasping her stomach. To her surprise, Sashi did the same. She gasped for air. The stranger hadn't hit her back, so why did it feel as though she had had the wind knocked out of her. Straightening up, Sashi stared at the stranger and she stared right back.

"How did you do that?" Sashi asked in awe.

"I'm you, remember?"

Again, Sashi hurled her fist into the stranger's stomach, and again the two feel back in pain. Akida straightened up, placing her hands behind her head again.

Regaining some of his strength, Riku tried to stop Sashi.

"Sash… she's… under a…" But that's all he could vomit up.

Sashi couldn't understand it. The stranger wasn't retaliating at all, and yet she felt as though she was being hit as well.

"Remove your hood." Sashi demanded.

Akida did as she was told. Sashi was taken aback quite a bit as her eyes fell upon herself. The same blonde hair done up the same way; the same green eyes; everything was the same down to the last freckle.

"You're me…"

"I've only been telling you this from the beginning." Akida said mockingly.

"This is some sort of black magic." Sashi whispered, still in shock.

"That would be correct."

It all began to connect. "That's why whenever I hit you, I feel it. That's part of the spell. Whatever happens to the copy happens to the original."

"You catch on quickly."

Sashi nodded. "So, what do we do now?"

"Well, you could either give up and let me kill you, or we could go on fighting and see who the stronger Sashi is." Akida answered, smiling devilishly.

Sashi agreed quietly, nodding her head. And the fight began. Riku heard the sounds of fists meeting stomachs, legs flying through the air, bodies hitting the floor. Finally forcing his eyes open, Riku found both Sashi's on the hardwood floor, one holding her head and the other clutching her stomach.

"Enough…" Riku breathed. "Please Ak… enough…"

"You're right my love." She answered. "That is enough."

Not a moment later, Akida's pulled her dagger from her boot. Her arm swung over and Riku watched as it came down to Sashi. Before the tip of the steel touched her skin, Sashi materialized. Akida stood up, holding the dagger in one hand and her stomach in the other. She waited, but Sashi did not reappear. Becoming frustrated, she yelled out into the darkness.

"Reappear!"

But she did not.

"Reappear you gutless worm."

Akida felt Sashi's arms wrap around her from the back.

"Wanna take a trip?" Sashi whispered, and the two girls disappeared, leaving Riku alone to render unconscious.

Sashi and Akida appeared deep in the desert. Sashi quickly released the girl and materialized once again. Akida looked around at the baron wasteland she had been placed in and smiled.

"Silly little girl."

Sashi reappeared in the room where she had left Riku. He ran over to the unconscious boy and tried to release him from the spell that attached him to the wall. Holding her hands over his ankles, she forced the magic to fade away. Moving to his wrists, she did the same. Riku fell forward onto Sashi, who carried his over to the bed. The young woman placed his on the bed and sat next to him.

"Wake up." She whispered, running the back of her hand over his cheek. "Wake up."

Sashi remember what she had done the last time Riku had fallen unconscious and decided that maybe it would work again. She placed her fingertips on top of his chest and closed her eyes. Before she could press down, she felt Riku's hand grasp her wrist. She opened her eyes and saw the boy smiling up at her.

"I remember what happened to me last time you did that. I wasn't fun." He whispered quietly.

Sashi laughed. Riku joined her. His laughter did not last long though. Horror took over him as he saw a large piece of wood collide with Sashi's head and knock her to the ground. Looking up, he once again saw Akida, still in Sashi's form.

"Akida!" he growled.

Akida stood over Sashi's unconscious body.

"I'm not all beauty you now. I do have a few tricks up my sleeve." Akida smiled deviously. "Now that the job is over and done Take me back to the body I come from."

Akida fell to her knees, grasping the sides of her head. Before his eyes, Akida returned to her form. Sashi's soft blonde hair gave way to Akida's many tiny black braids. The black gloves, silver shirt and black pants dissolved into Akida's normal black attire. Akida's sight and sound returned and she stood up again.

"Now," she said, kneeling down to Sashi with her dagger firmly grasped in her hand, "to finish it."

"Riku?"

The door began to jiggle. Akida thrust her hand out at the wooden entrance. The doors shut tightly and locked.

"Riku? What's going on in there? Riku open the door." Sora's voice ran out from the corridor.

"Sashi? Sashi, are you in there?" Becky's voice followed.

"Captain, I swear, if all that banging is what I think it is I'm going to personally rip your heart out now that you have one!" And then Dogan's.

"Shit…" Akida whispered, standing up.

She walked over the Riku and leaned over. "Until next time." She said, placing one last kiss on his lips. With that, Akida disappeared into the darkness.

The doors flew open, followed by Dogan and Sora. Becky rushed in after them. Riku lay on the bed, ready to fall unconscious any minute. Sashi lay still on the floor.

"What happened here?" Becky cried out, running over to her fallen friend.

Sora rushed over to Riku and sat him up.

"Riku, what happened?"

Riku's head hung low.

Dogan stormed over to the two boys. Slapping Riku a few times in the face, he woke up again.

"What did you do to her Captain?" he demanded, still thinking the worst.

"Dogan, is rape all you think about since we told you what it meant?" Sashi asked, sitting up with Becky's help. "He didn't do anything to me."

"I do not. It's just… well… he's Captain Ragging Hormones... and you're Sashi…and well… what else was I supposed to think? You were both in here with the door locked and there was a lot of unaccounted for bagging going on."

"Whoever is running the Heartless now knows who we are and where we are." Sashi said softly, lifting her hand to the back of her head.

"How do you know that?" Sora questioned.

"She may have looked life me, but she had a very distinctive burn mark on the back of her neck."

"Who?" Sora asked.

"Burn mark?" Dogan chimed in.

"The assassin that was sent here obviously kill me and Becky and yet found Riku first." Sashi explained, standing up slowly.

"Assassin?" Becky yelled.

"How did you know she was an assassin sent by the Heartless?" Sora asked, still holding Riku up.

Riku sat quietly, blood beginning to trickle from his mouth again.

"By the burn mark." Sashi answered.

"What burn mark?" Dogan asked again.

Sashi turned her eyes to the three boys by the bed. "She had the Heartless symbol burnt into her skin."

----

"Damnit! Damnit!" Akida screamed out. She had returned to the middle of the desert. Taking her rage out on the sand beneath her feet, she screamed again. "This is not fair!"

Hanging her head in pain, a single tear from the young woman's black eyes. No other tears followed though as she noticed her hand beginning to dissolve into black and purple specs.

"She knows…" she whispered in fear.

----

"She'll be here any moment, milady."

"Good." Maleficent hissed.

Akida suddenly appeared at the base of the stone stairs. She stood there, frozen with terror save her hands. Her hands trembled with fear.

"Akida, Akida, Akida. What did you do?" Maleficent asked, her tone both sarcastic and furious at the same time.

"I… I…" Akida tried to answer, but fear wouldn't allow her.

"Now I distinctly remember telling you to keep away from Riku. And you know I do not tolerate disobedience. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Please forgive me milady. I… I did not mean to. I swear. I'll never go against you again. Please." Akida pleaded, falling to her knees.

Maleficent slowly glided down the jagged staircase. She approached Akida and motioned her to stand. Tears streamed down the sixteen year old's face.

"Please don't hurt me milady. I shan't do it again. I'll keep my distance. I will." Akida wept.

"Sh." Maleficent hushed the terrified young woman. Placing the back of her hand on Akida's cheek, she revealed somewhat of an understanding and gentle smile. She ran her hand down toward the girl's neck. "Now Akida," the smile disappeared and Maleficent's hand gripped the girl's throat tightly, "you know that if I don't punish you, the word will spread that I have learned mercy. And you wouldn't want that happening, now would you?"

Maleficent squeezed Akida's throat tighter, raising her hand. Akida's body lifted from the air, gasping for a breath. She kicked out violently as she rose higher from the ground. As Akida's attempts for air became weaker, Maleficent threw the girl down to the ground. Akida landed hard on the stone floor. Two Noners, dressed in black with the Heartless symbol across their chests, came up to Akida, took her arms, and stood her up.

"Get her out of me sight." Maleficent commanded.

The Noner's pulled the resisting girl from the room.

"What do you want done to her?" Ansem questioned.

"Have the Noners perform the usual punishment. Then send her back out. Riku is still vulnerable, and, unfortunately, Akida is still valuable to us."

"Milady, the usual punishment always left Akida unable to move for days. How do you expect her to return if you order that?"

Maleficent climbed the stairs and sat upon her black thrown. "Whoever said anything about making it easy for her?"

Maleficent laughed viciously as Ansem quitted the room.

Only three things could be heard echoing in the castle of Kingdom Hearts that night: Maleficent's cold and taunting laughter, the sound of countless cracks of a whip, and the agonizing screams of a disobedient sixteen year old girl.

AN: It's one o'clock in the morning and I'm in no mood to write an author's note at the moment. Thanks for your understand. Keep reading.


	14. One Last Time

_**One Last Time**_

_Really, I can't stand these things anymore. New is mine, old is theirs._

Sashi and Becky had been asleep in their room for hours. Sashi lay with quite a large wet cloth wrapped around her head. Palace guards stood outside their door.

"Are you sure they'll be alright?" Riku asked, sitting on the floor of his room.

"There are palace guards posted at their door and there is no other way in. Dogan's placed a charm on the room so no one may enter by way of magic." Sora answered, putting his feet up on the bed.

"Yeah, I have everything under control. Now, be quiet and keep still." Dogan said, slapping on another wet cloth onto Riku's head quite hard.

"Ow…" Riku murmured.

The two young women slept rather soundly for what had happen just a few hours ago. Alas, this peaceful slumber would not last as long as they had hoped. As they had done many times before, Sashi and Becky began to fall deeper into their sleep, slipping away into the darkness. When they came to, they found themselves in a dark room filled with fog that covered most of their legs. In the darkness, a blurred figure came into view. As their confusion grew, the figure became clearer.

"Oh my God," Becky whispered, "Sashi, it's the vision witch."

The same woman from Becky's past vision in the Olympus Coliseum stood in front of them.

"Hello girls." The old woman said.

"Becky, I think it's talking to us." Sashi whispered, leaning in toward Sashi.

"Shh, maybe if we ignore it, it'll go away."

"I'm not an 'it'." The woman snapped.

"It talked again."

"My name is Morgana, the sorceress of time and fate."

"Good for you." Sashi snapped back, yawning. "May we go back to sleep now?"

Morgana raised one hand into the air. In moments, something began to burn into the darkness. Three lines: two vertical lines with a smaller one between them.

"Why is she burning our scar into the air?" Sashi asked, her confusion growing.

Becky didn't answer though. Instead, she was grasping her arm tightly where her scar was. The instant Sashi saw this, her arm began to burn as well.

"Okay, no more insults. You are Morgana, the sorceress of… um…" Becky began.

"Ow! Time and fate! Time and fate!"

Sashi released her arm and the pain was gone.

Morgana lowered her hand and the imprint disappeared. "Now…"

"No, okay! I am sick and tired of random people and creatures coming into my dreams and then making no sense whatever about things that they expect me to already know. I'm not gonna take it anymore. You are going to listen to _me_ and answer _my_ questions!" Sashi yelled.

Morgana began to raise her hand again.

Sashi quickly snatched the old woman by the arm. "No! You are not going to hurt me and Becky again! Just because I don't want to listen to you does not give you the right to… to…" The young woman stopped, realizing that she was holding onto something that only existed in her mind. She shouldn't have been able to touch the sorceress, she was only a vision. "You're real." She whispered in utter shock.

"Yes." Morgana answered calmly.

"How are you real? You're just a vision. You can't be real." Sashi stuttered, letting go.

Morgana folded her hands in front of her body. "Are you ready to listen now?"

The two girls nodded.

"Now…"

Becky quickly raised her hand.

"What is it Rebecca?"

"Quick question." She answered, lowering her hand to her side. "How did you know about our scars?"

"Yeah, we haven't told anyone here about our scars." Sashi chimed in.

"I've always known about them." Morgana answered, still as calm as ever.

"Yeah, but… how?"

The old woman inhaled deeply. "Because I am the one who gave them to you."

Blinking a few times, Sashi and Becky took in her words in utter confusion.

"Say what?" Sashi muttered.

"I gave them to you."

"Not possible."

"Why not?"

"Because, Becky and I got these scars when… um…" Sashi thought for a second. "Well… we were…"

She didn't know. She didn't know how she had gotten that scar on her arm. She had had it for as long as she could remember. But she didn't know how it happened. How could she not know? It was _her_ scar. How could she not know how she got her own scar?

"Well?" Morgana demanded.

"Gimme a sec, I'll remember."

"No you won't. You can't remember. It happened before you were born." Morgana explained.

"How could this have happened to me before I was born?" Sashi snapped. "Before I was born, I was inside my mother. Nothing could have gotten to me in there to give me this scar."

"Except magic."

Sashi curled her fingers. "You… are a very confusing old lady, you know that?"

"Sashi calm down." Becky finally said, placing a hand on one of her friend's shoulders.

"No I will not calm down Becky! Do you hear what this witch is saying? Scaring us while we were still inside our mothers! How do you expect me to calm down after hearing that load of shit?"

"Hey! Deep, cleansing breaths! In. Out. In. Out. Oxygen. Carbon dioxide. It _will_ help."

Clenching her fists tighter, Sashi inhaled and exhaled deeply.

"Now," Becky turned to Morgana," without using any big words that will confuse or upset us any more, explain how."

"While you were still inside your mothers, I used to magic to imprint those scars on your left arms." Morgana told them.

"Why would you do something like that?" the young red-head asked innocently.

"That's a long story my dear Rebecca."

"Well, we've got nothing else to do. We're pretty much trapped here until we wake up. So, on with the story sorceress." Sashi spewed, vessels beginning to pop out of her hands and arms.

"Are you quite all right Sasha?" Morgana asked, seeing the young woman become more enraged by the moment.

"I have anger management problems. Just tell the goddamned story." She snapped.

"Very well then." Morgana said. "It all started about fifty years before your parents knew they would become mothers and fathers."

----

"What's that?" Dogan asked.

"What's what?" Riku responded, sitting on his bed.

"That thing you're hiding in your pocket. What is it?" he asked, leaning toward Riku from his bed.

"Nothing." Riku answered quickly, stuffing the object deeper in his pocket.

"Oh come on Captain. What is it?"

"It's nothing for you Doggy." Riku lay down, facing away from Dogan.

An awkward smile formed on Dogan's lips. "It's for Sashi, isn't it?"

"That's none of your-"

Sora burst into the room. "They're gone again."

"What?" Riku asked.

"How are they gone again?" Dogan asked, helping Riku up from the bed.

The two boys followed Sora into the girl's room down the hall a bit.

"Dogan, remember when Becky disappeared that time in the Olympus Coliseum. While Sashi was out getting herself almost killed?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"I think that's what happened."

"What happened in the Olympus Coliseum?" Riku questioned, hanging onto Dogan as they stood in the doorway.

Ignoring Riku's questioned, Sora moved on. "The guards said that they didn't leave the room at all. The windows were locked from the outside. There's no other way they could have gotten out except through these doors. They guards also said that they had heard something from inside. When the entered the room, all they found was scattered, disappearing blue specs." Sora explained, and turned to Dogan. "What color did Becky disappear into that night?"

"What happened in the Olympus Coliseum?" Riku asked again.

Dogan paused for a moment in recollection. "Blue…"

----

"In those times, I was great friends with Merlin. We did have our disagreements though. Mostly because he only worked with white magic, for good. I on the other hand, I utilized both white and black magic. I had my own side.

"One of the advantages of using black magic is that you are allowed more than just feelings of what is going on. You are also allowed to see what is going on. I started to have visions that showed me the comings-forth of the Protectors of the Kingdoms, including exactly who they were. When I tried to inform Merlin, he disregarded my words. We had recently fought for he found out that I had assisted a dark wizard a few weeks passed. After that day, he never spoke to me again.

"Thirty years had passed when Maleficent approached me with a proposition. She promised me… well, that matters not… if I told her who the Protectors of the Kingdoms were to be. I told her that I'd make them noticeable, but I would not reveal their identities.

"I tried to tell Merlin, but he would not listen. So, I made them noticeable enough for him to realize as well."

"Our scars are noticeable? How? They're… small." Becky questioned.

"Two girls born with the same exact scar, in the same exact position, on the same exact arm; that doesn't happen every day Rebecca."

"Still, how would Merlin have been able to find us? We come from a world that no one has ever heard of before." Sashi pointed out, finally calm enough to speak at a descent level.

"I tried to tell Merlin that but-"

"But he disappeared…" Becky finished.

"What?" Sashi asked, looking over at her friend in confusion. "How did you know that?"

"I remember that." Becky whispered, recalling her previous vision with Merlin and Morgana.

Silence followed. An eerie silence that only suggested the worst.

"That's not why you brought us here, is it? You didn't only want to tell us a history." Sashi said, noticing a clear change in Morgana's mood. "You wanted to tell us of the present as well."

"Well Sasha, haven't grown up? Yes, unfortunately, I do have more to tell."

"Unfortunately? Why unfortunately?" Becky asked, sensing her own fear rising.

"How long do you think you have been here?"

The two girls glanced at each other, and back at Morgana.

"In Agrabah or here in general?"

"Away from home. How long do you think you two have been gone?"

"Obviously not the time we thought. Otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation." Sashi laughed, embarrassed a bit.

"Time is an absurd thing. It does not work the same way it does as in your world."

"You mean we haven't been here six months?" Sashi yelled in a new found glee.

"How long then? Six weeks? Six days?" Becky giggled, bouncing about.

Morgana inhaled deeply, as if trying to avoid the answer.

"How long Morgana?" Sashi asked, returning to her calm state of being.

Morgana sighed once more. "One year." She whispered.

The old woman watched as the girls' excitement seemed to melt away in an instance, turning into horror.

"That's… that's not possible." Becky breathed, finding it oddly difficult to keep herself standing.

"Time doesn't work the same way here that it does in your world. Time in your world in double what time is here. One hour here would be two hours in your world; one month would be two months. So, six months here is the equivalent of one year in your world."

Sashi knees gave out at this information and she began coughing into the ground, trying to hold back the vomit now settling in the pit of her stomach. Becky felt her head spin, her vision now blurring with fear.

Morgana restrained herself from shedding the tears that resided directly behind her tired, blue eyes. "Go to Disney Castle next. It will lead toward a greater understanding of why you are here. More importantly, who you are." She turned to leave, only pausing for a brief moment. "I'm sorry."

The image of Morgana disappeared, and Sashi and Becky faded away into blue.

----

"Look…" Dogan whispered at the sight of the specs of blue appearing in the dark room.

The specs formed into well-known bodies of the two young Protectors. Sashi was still doubled-over on the floor. Becky stumbled, her fingertips hardly touching her forehead.

"Becky." Dogan gasped, releasing Riku and running over to the young woman.

Riku fell to the ground in front of Sashi. Becky wrapped her arms around Dogan in a daze, burying her face in his chest. Sashi had stopped coughing now, her head resting on the floor. Riku slid over to the blonde.

"What happened?" he whispered. "What did you see?"

Sashi lifted her head up from the floor. She wore a blank stare of utter defeat.

"Doubled time. Home is doubled time." She breathed. "Home…"

But she stopped. She could not finish her thought. In that moment, home became such a blur. The tears ceased. She just stared off into space.

"Sashi? Sashi?"

Riku's voice faded away.

"Becky? Becky?"

"Luke…"

----

Sashi's eyes fluttered a bit until she finally woke up. She had been placed in her bed. Uncovering herself, she ran her hand over her face. Becky lay asleep in her bed. Dogan had obviously been keeping watch over her because he was stretched out across the end of her bed. Sora, Donald, and Goofy must have returned to their room for they were nowhere in sight. Riku sat in the large chair on the other side of the room, moaning as he slept.

Sashi got up from her bed and took up the extra blanket that lay on her bed. Slowly, she crept over to the chair. Riku continued to moan as Sashi covered him with the blanket. Instantly, the young man woke up.

"What are you doing?" he whispered, still half asleep.

"You were moaning."

"So you put a blanket on me?"

Sashi gave an embarrassed smile. "Stupid, I know. You should really let somebody heal you though."

"Nah… Nobody needs to go wasting magic on me. I'll be fine. They heal by themselves." Riku answered; his wounds obviously hurt a great deal. "Go on back to sleep Sashi. You need you rest, my Protector." He smiled, bowing his head.

Sashi tiptoed back to her bed. Riku fell back asleep, and his moaning had once again started. Sashi felt the pit of her stomach jolt. Turning away from her bed, she returned to Riku's side. Gently, she placed her hands on his chest.

"Curaga."

Minutes later, Riku awoke. Sashi had fallen back to sleep. Smiling, he pulled the blanket closer. And then it hit him. The pain was gone. Lifting up the blanket, he saw that all his bruises had disappeared. His stomach no longer throbbed.

"Well then, there ya go."

----

Morning came and the seven friends began to walk east. Sashi and Becky were saying their last goodbyes to Aladdin and Jasmine. Nothing was said about the night before. Sashi and Becky had slept soundly once the boys had gotten them from the floor to their beds. They woke up this morning as if nothing had happened at all. The others waited outside by the city walls.

"Lemme see it Captain."

Riku glanced over at Dogan. "What?"

Dogan pointed at the small white box in Riku's pocket.

"No." Riku snapped, covering the box with his cloak.

"Please. Come on Captain. I already know it's for Sashi. Lemme see it."

Riku took the box from his pocket and held it tightly. "No Doggy."

"Please!"

"For the last time… NO!"

Dogan made a face that suggested that he was giving up. Suddenly, the boy flung his arm out into the air in front of him.

"Look! A distraction!"

Riku jerked his head around. "What? Where?"

As soon as Riku turned his head, Dogan snatched the box from his hand. For a moment, Riku reflected on what had just happened and what he had just fallen for. The box was now being whisked away into the middle of the desert.

"No!" Riku yelled, running after Dogan. "Stop! Sit! Stay! Heel! Bad dog!"

This continued for about ten minutes until Riku finally caught up to Dogan and dove on top of him. The two teenaged boys wrestled about on the sand.

"Give it back Doggy." Riku demanded.

"Rape! Rape! I don't know what it means, but RAPE!"

Sashi and Becky stood watching the two boys wrestle. Sora exited the city gate, and came to an abrupt stop when he saw the scene going on before him. Donald and Goofy tilted their heads to one side.

"Is there something you boys would like to tell us?" Becky announced.

Dogan and Riku stopped, lifting their eyes to the girls. Riku quickly got up off Dogan and stood up, snatching the small white box back from him.

"Well?" she repeated.

Riku did not say anything. Dogan got from the sand. He too was silent.

"So, where we going?" Sora said, breaking the awkward silence.

"Disney Castle."

----

All seven climbed the steps of Disney Castle. Donald and Goofy ran off in front of the rest, ecstatic to be home again. Following them was Sora, Dogan, and Becky. Riku and Sashi lagged behind.

"Hold up a minute Sashi?" Riku said, grabbing her arm.

"What?"

Riku paused. "I gotta go." He sighed.

"What? No, come one. It's so much more fun with you around. Being beaten to a pulp by a scary twin person. How is that not fun?"

Riku did not smile at this remark as she had expected.

"I can't go in there Sashi. I can't tell you why, I just can't. I'll be back soon though, I promise." Riku reached into his pocket and pulled out the white box. "Put your head down."

"What?"

"Put your head down."

Sashi hesitated for a moment, and then complied. A silver chain was clasped around her neck. Riku back away as Sashi picked up the charm in her hand. The charm was an asterex that glowed a pale white.

"Oh Riku." Sashi gasped in awe. "Riku, I can't accept this. After all I put you through…"

"I put you through the same and maybe worse."

Sashi smiled and continued to play with her new necklace.

"It's magic you know."

"Magic? Really?"

"Yah. It works just like Impulse Magic. It grants you one with, and then the light goes out. It casts whatever wish your heart makes, even if it's one of destruction. Anything you want, you got it."

"Awesome! I wish…"

"No! Not now." Riku yelled. "Save it Todd or something."

Sashi gave the strangest look of confusion, and it scared Riku.

"Todd?"

Riku was taken aback by this comment. "Todd, your little brother."

Sashi paused. "I know…" she lied.

_ 'A little brother? I have a brother? I don't remember having a brother. How can I not remember have a brother?'_

Sashi was forgetting more and more about her past.

Riku turned to leave. Sashi quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Instead of arguing with her, Riku placed a small kiss on her lips.

"One last time." He whispered. Once again, he turned around and walked down the steps.

Sashi stood in astonishment.

"Hey Sashi, are you coming or not?" Becky yelled from the doors at the top of the stairs.

"I'm coming." She whispered, watching Riku walk further and further away. Smiling, she turned and climbed the steps once more.

----

_ "No, no. You can't go in there! Milady is not expecting you. She is very busy at the moment."_ A Heartless guard squeaked in it own language.

Riku grabbed the Heartless by its armor and lifted it off the ground. _"She has time for me."_ He uttered in Heartless.

Riku burst through the huge black doors to the thrown room. He stormed in and stopped at the edge of the stone stairs.

"You son of a bitch! You told me I could trust you! You said you wouldn't hurt me! And what do you do? You send Akida out to fuck things up!"

Ansem stood next to Maleficent, wearing an evil grin. Maleficent look at the boy calmly.

"Riku, do you actually think I told Akida to come face to face with you. I told her to stay away from you." She said smoothly.

"You sent you to follow me!"

"Of course I did Riku. What did you expect me to do, make the same mistake I made last time? And now that you have your heart back…"

"Fuck you!" Riku yelled. All of a sudden he spied Akida standing behind the huge black thrown, hiding in the darkness. "You son of a bitch!" Riku charged at her, but was held back by Ansem. "You fucking bitch! You could've ruined everything! I told you I hated you! I never even wanted to be with you in the first place!"

"Yeah, but you were." Akida smirked.

"That's enough Akida. Let me take care of him. You may leave now." Maleficent mused, smiling mischievously.

"Yes milady."

Akida walked down the jagged steps. Riku then saw that the back of her shirt was torn to bits. Beneath the shirt, he could see countless scars on Akida's back. Some were still bleeding. Blood streamed down her back and dripped onto the floor.

"Scars for remembering, right Akida." Riku said, sarcastically.

"Indeed." She mused back.

"Got what you deserved."

"Don't worry, my love. You won't be left out."

And with that, the young henchman exited the thrown room.

Riku pushed Ansem off him and walked down the stairs. Before leaving, he turned and faced Maleficent and Ansem again.

"That's it. I'm done."

"What do you mean you're done boy?" Ansem questioned.

"I mean I'm not working for you anymore! I'm not gonna be your puppet any longer! I hope Becky and Sashi finish you both off." And with that Riku left the castle of Kingdom Hearts for the last time.

"Bring Akida back in here." Maleficent ordered.

A moment later, Akida reentered the thrown room.

"Our worst fears have come true Akida. Riku has fallen in love and left us. He has betrayed me for the last time. I want him dead before the Protectors reach Kingdom Hearts."

"Yes milady. It would be my honor."

AN: Yeah…. Long time again… I know… Sorry. Keep reading though. Thanx.


	15. To Return At Last

_**To Return At Last**_

_Blah, blah, blah, old characters belong to SquareSoft and Disney and the rest are mine, blah, blah, blah._

Sashi and Becky were the first to enter the castle. As they stepped inside the huge wooden doors, a cold shiver shot up their spines. Their hearing went and their vision blurred. The two young women had never felt a sensation quite like this before. Grabbing onto the sides of the doors, the vision finally took them.

They stood in the entrance hall of the castle. Looking behind them, they saw their bodies leaning up against the doors along with the blurred figures of Sora, Dogan, Donald, and Goofy.

"These things should have a warning siren." Sashi sighed, approaching her body. "All right, I give up. Are we dead or something?"

"No, I don't think we're dead. Just in a different state of visions that we've experienced before."

"Of course." Sashi replied, annoyed by the sudden vision.

"I'm sorry for doing that so quickly girls, but I needed to talk to you as soon as possible."

Sashi and Becky turned back toward the hall at the sound of this familiar voice. Becky's mouth dropped and Sashi's eyes widened.

"It's Mickey Mouse!" Sashi yelled out.

Becky lightly nudged her stomach.

"I mean Your Majesty. All hail the great and powerful King Mickey!"

Sashi bowed, trying her best not to break out in complete laughter.

Mickey laughed as well. "I'm glad to see you two found your way here. I need your help."

"What can we do for you Your Majesty?" Becky asked, smiling as she had not for a long time.

"This may sound a bit strange to you girls, but I need you to help me get my shell back." The king said.

Sashi tilted her head, "Say what?"  
"What you're talking to now is my heart. I need you to get my shell back for me." He explained.

"Come again?" Becky asked, her head beginning to tilt as well.

"When I was trapped in Kingdom Hearts, my heart was able to escape, but my shell wasn't." he continued to explain.

"Okay. And how exactly are we supposed to get your shell back?"

"Sashi, don't speak like that to the king."

"You mean you don't know?" Mickey questioned.

The two girls looked at each other and then back at the king.

"Are we supposed to know?" Sashi asked.

"You two are the Protectors. The chosen ones. You have to know what to do." Mickey squeaked, beginning to panic.

Sashi and Becky stood perfectly still for a moment. What were they going to do? They had no idea what the king was talking about. They had learned how to return a heart to a shell, but never a shell to a heart. Another moment went by and suddenly Sashi felt Becky's hand fly back into her stomach.

"Ow…" Sashi breathed, doubling over.

"I remember that spell!" Becky yelled in glee.

"What spell?" Sashi squeaked, still doubled over in pain.

"In the book, there's a spell to return a shell to its heart. I read it that night in the Olympus Coliseum when we found the spell to return a heart." Becky announced.

"Great. Next time you have another one of your revelations, could you not hit me?" Sashi said, straightening up.

"What? Oh, sorry Sashi."

Sashi took a few steps closer to Becky and Mickey.

"You remember the spell?" she said as if it were something natural to her.

"Every word." Becky responded.

"All right then, let's do this."

The two girls moved toward their bodies.

"Just stand right there your majesty." Sashi said.

"Why? Where are you going?"

"We need to be conscious to do this. Don't worry. Like you said, we're Protectors. We know what we're doing."

Sashi and Becky stepped back into their bodies, feeling a quick rush flow through them. They stumbled forward, conscious once again. Dogan and Sora grabbed their arms to help them stabilize themselves. The two got their feeting and straightened up. Sora, Dogan, Donald, and Goofy stared at them, wondering why they had stopped moving.

"Camees eem

Hawid peskin sheshnor galnet."

"Return to thee

The part of a being."

"Helle lowdona kemat cannia

Het teaell zon."

"That protects the heart

And encloses one form."

"Tryconnell theamore noso

Soent glengarrif."

"To connect the spirit

And complete a life."

"Camees eem

Skilem."

"Return to thee

The shell."

"What are you doing?" Dogan yelled.

"What the hell was that?" Sora shouted.

The ground shook. The air in the castle hall stirred. Twenty feet in front of them, a gold glitter began to appear. The glitter then started to take a very distinct form. Above the form, a heart appeared. A burst of blinding white light came forth from the form. All turned their heads. When the light disappeared, Sora felt something move pass his leg. He opened his eyes and saw Pluto running toward the king.

"Your majesty! You majesty! You're all right!" Donald yelled as he ran toward Mickey.

Goofy wrapped his arms around Sashi and squeezed tightly, lifting her off the ground a bit. "You brought the king back!" he smiled.

Sashi tapped Goofy with her free hand. He looked down at her.

"Yes?"

She pointed at her mouth. "Air…" she gasped.

"Oh, sorry." Goofy said, letting go.

King Mickey approached the two Protectors, Pluto trotting along behind him. "Thank you girls."

----

King Mickey set the travelers up in their own rooms in the castle. Once again, Sashi and Becky were put in the same room for more security. Sora and Dogan had told them to stay in their room until they came to get them, but when has that stopped the two young women before?

"Umph…" Sashi said, bumping into someone as she turned a corner.

"Watch yourself miss. Wouldn't want to hurt yourself now." The person said, helping Sashi up.

"No, I guess not. Tha…" Sashi stopped in mid-word and stared at the person whom she had bumped into. "You're… you're…" she stuttered in amazement.

"Sashi, look, you bumped into Cogsworth." Becky said as she turned the corner, completely calm and in total awe.

"Hello ladies. How may I help you?"

"You can direct them back to their rooms. Now." Sora demanded, rounding the corner.

Sashi and Becky turned around to find both Sora and Dogan, annoyed and impatient.

"We thought we told you two to stay in your room." Sora said, crossing his arms.

Sashi and Becky quickly looked at each other, then back at the boys. Thinking fast, they gave cheesy smiles, hoping it would get them out of trouble.

"Not gonna work. Go back to your room." Dogan commanded.

"We just want to explore a little. We've never been in a castle before." Becky complained.

"I don't care. Go back to your room." Sora demanded again.

"Why?" Sashi whined.

"Because I sure as hell don't want to be chasing you around who knows where trying to save you life because you accidentally stumbled into the wrong room. And I'm sure Dogan doesn't want that either. Right Dogan."

"Don't answer that." Becky snapped.

Dogan kept silent.

"Dogan." Sora reprimanded, turning toward him

"Sorry man. She's got power over me. I defy and the kissing things stop." Dogan said.

"Kissing things?" Sashi shouted, facing Becky.

"Bonjour everyone." Lumière said, entering the scene. "Ah, you two lovely ladies must be our Protectors."

They blushed a bit, nodding.

"Enchanté madmoiselles." Lumière bent over and kissed Sashi's hand. He did the same to Becky. "May I be of service in anyway?"

"You can tell those two that we can gallivant about the castle all we want." Becky said, annoyed, as she pointed toward Dogan and Sora.

"What you can really get them are some showers." Dogan laughed.

"The two ladies would like showers, oui?" Lumière asked.

"You have showers here?" Sashi asked, leaning over Becky, who was standing in front of her.

"We have several miss." Cogsworth answered.

Sashi and Becky took a quick glance at each other, then turned their attention back to Cogsworth.

"Where's the nearest bathroom?" Becky asked.

"Down the hall."

"Where the next nearest bathroom?" Sashi asked.

"Up the stairs and down the hall."

"Okay, one, two, three, go!" they shouted simultaneously.

Becky sprinted down the hall. Sashi rushed upstairs. Cogsworth and Lumière watched them in confusion.

"Don't worry." Dogan said.

"You'll get used to them." Sora finished.

----

After two hours, Sashi finally stepped out of the shower. She grabbed a towel and wrapped herself up. Pulling on her cloak, she went to pick up her clothes. They were not there. There was only one explanation for her missing clothes.

"Sora! Dogan! Give me back my clothes!" Sashi yelled, storming out of the bathroom and running for the stairs. She leaned over the banister and saw them both standing at the foot of the stairs.

"We didn't take your clothes!" Dogan yelled up the stairs.

"Do you expect me to believe that?"

"Yes!" Sora yelled back.

"Don't make me come down there and chase you in a towel!"

Dogan laughed quietly. "She won't chase us in a towel."

"You just keep thinking that Dogan."

Sora turned and ran. Dogan looked up and saw Sashi bolting down the steps.

"Ah!" Dogan sprinted off after Sora.

Meanwhile, Becky walked down the hall alongside Merlin, who still had not left from escorting Kairi to the castle. All of a sudden, Sora and Dogan came sprinting down the hallway.

"Becky, go to your room!" Sora yelled as he passed by, still running for his life.

"Hi boss! Bye boss!" Dogan kept running as well.

Sashi came running up behind them. The three found themselves in a dinning room. The boys stood on one side, and Sashi stood on the other.

"I'm getting really cold now guys. Give me back my clothes." Sashi demanded.

"We didn't take them." Dogan squeaked.

Sashi leaned over the long table. "One…"

"Sashi, don't do anything irrational." Sora yelled panic-stricken.

"Two…"

"I'm too cute to die!" Dogan shouted, rushing to the doors.

Sashi threw her hand out toward the doors, throwing a bit of magic along with it. Running into the invisible wall created by her magic, Dogan fell back into Sora. Turning back to Sashi, the two boys watched as a ball of fire formed in her hand.

"Sashi, what are you doing?" Becky said, entering the room.

Sashi quickly blinked, falling back a bit. She shook her head as if recovering from a dizzy spell. Noticing the fireball in her hand, the young woman waved her hand through the air, extinguishing the flames. As panic grew inside her stomach, her eyes darted about the room to see if she had done anything she was going to regret.

"What the hell is that matter with you?" Sora snapped. "You almost tried to kill us."

"I did what?" she squeaked.

"What do you mean you did what?"

Merlin walked over to the young woman. As he took her hands gently, Sashi focused on the wizard's eyes.

"Sashi, what's the last thing you remember?" Merlin asked quietly.

"Last thing…" she breathed, "stepping out of the shower and reaching for a towel."

"And then chasing us around the castle and nearly blasting us with a ball of flames." Dogan added in annoyance.

"I did not such thing." Sashi retorted.

"Are you out of your mind? You can't try to deny it, everyone saw you do it Sashi." Sora argued.

Sashi stared at the two boys. "But I didn't…"

Out of the corner of her eye, Becky saw something move toward the back of the room. Before she could utter any sort of reaction, two large chairs transformed into Heartless.

"Get down!" Becky yelled.

Sashi did as she was told, crouching down and covering her head with her arms. Merlin bent down beside her. In an instant, Becky fired two energy balls at the Heartless and they were destroyed. Merlin stood up slowly, backing away toward the young girl. Sashi remover her arms from atop her head and looked up at her friend.

"Now we've moved on to possession?" she asked angrily, coming to her feet.

"Alert the guards. Have them search the entire castle." Sora commanded and Dogan sped off down the hall.

----

Sora escorted Sashi back to her room after dinner. Becky stayed behind with Merlin and Dogan.

"How do you think they got into the castle?" she asked.

"They were probably able to enter when you were in that vision with the king. You were vulnerable and they used it to their advantage." Sora guessed.

"Great."

Silence fell. The two walked down the endless hallway until they came to the landing of the stairs. Sora did not begin to ascend the stairs though. After a few steps, Sashi looked back to find the young man gazing off into another room.

"What's up?" Sashi asked, looking in the direction Sora was. "Oh, that's what up."

In the room directly across from where they were stood Kairi.

"Go talk to her."

"Are you serious? She hates me." Sora rebutted, still fixed on Kairi.

Annoyed that Sora was not brave enough to confront Kairi, Sashi decided it was time to take drastic measure. She stuck her hand down the boy's pocket.

"What are you doing?" Sora asked as he squirmed for freedom.

"I'm looking for something." She told him, taking her hand out of that pocket and reaching into the next. "Found it." She said triumphantly as she pulled out a small star-shaped charm. She placed it in Sora's hand. "Now, go talk to her. Even if it's just to give this back."

"How did you know about this?" Sora whispered in disbelief.

"I have my ways." She smiled. "And I see you staring at it all the time."

Sashi grabbed Sora's shoulders and pushed him toward the room where Kairi was.

----

Kairi looked beautiful. She was wearing the same attire she had worn that day on the island. She was gazing at a picture a on island on the wall. Sora came up behind her without any notice.

"You miss it, don't you?"

Kairi looked behind her and saw the young man. She turned back around and began to walk away. Sora stepped toward her and grabbed her hand.

"No, please. Don't go. I don't know what I'll do if you leave me again." Sora pleaded.

He took her other hand and placed the charm in it. Kairi looked down and saw the star-shaped charm. Her eyes began to glaze over with tears and she gave small smile. She looked back up at Sora.

"Marry me?"

"What?" Kairi asked in utter confusion.

"Marry me." He repeated.

"What do you mean marry me?" Kairi asked again as her confusion grew.

"Marry me. The whole gold ring, white dress, "speak now or forever hold your peace" thing."

"Sora, did you hit your head or something?"

"I love you Kairi and I wanna marry you."

"Sora, we're sixteen years old." Kairi argued.

"Then we'll wait two years."

Sora kneeled down on one knee and took Kairi's hand again.

"Marry me. Please."

Kairi began to show a smile.

"We could… No, no, no. Sora, what's gotten into you?"

"You have." Sora said as Kairi started to walk away quickly. "Kairi, listen to me."

He got up and ran to her.

"What?" she said, turning toward him as her eyes gave off tears.

Sora tool a deep breath. "I love you. Always have, always will. If you say yes, you'll make me the happiest guy living. If you don't, I'll leave tomorrow with Sashi, Dogan, and Becky, and I'll never bother you again as long as you live. All I need is a one word answer."

Kairi paused for a moment, the answered…

----

Sashi lay on her bed, bored as ever. She hummed to herself, trying to think of something to do. Anything. Suddenly, Sora burst through the doors. Sashi sat up quickly.

"What the hell was that for? Scared me half to death."

Sora ran over to her and picked her up by the waist. He spun around for a moment, the stopped.

"Sashi, you rock!" he yelled in excitement as he began to spin her around again.

"Sora, I just ate!"

The young man placed her down. "I gotta hug ya." So he did.

"What are you doing? Did you hit your head or something?" Sashi yelled. "For your sake, Kairi better have forgiven you. 'Cause if you're drunk again, I swear, I'm gonna hit you on the head with a baseball bat. Even if I have to hand make that baseball bat."

"Even better. She said yes." Sora grabbed Sashi's cheeks and kissed her. "She said yes!"

"The only reason I'm not gonna introduce my fist to your face right now if because your in a really good mood. But if Kairi didn't say yes to something utterly spectacular," Sashi placed her hands around Sora's throat playfully and began to laugh, "I'm gonna kill you."

Sora's smile grew. "She's gonna marry."

And with that, he exited the room.

It took a moment for this to sink in.

"She's gonna what?"

Sashi sprinted from the room to Sora's side.

"I didn't tell you to propose to her, I told you to _talk_ to her!"

"It was the first thing that came out of my mouth." Sora kept smiling.

"The first thing that came out of your mouth? But you… she…."

"Sashi! What kind of ideas are you putting into that boy's head?" Becky shouted from downstairs.

"Me? I didn't tell him to propose!" she argued, running to the banister and looking down.

"Well, it looks like we've got a wedding to plan! After the whole "save the worlds from complete darkness and chaos" thing of course!" Becky laughed.

"You know what Becky? This is the best God damned late birthday present ever!"

"When was your birthday?" Sora asked, turning his eyes to Sashi.

"Two weeks ago." She answered as if it were nothing.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know. I just forgot."

----

Even though the travelers had only planned on staying one day at Disney Castle, their stay was extended. Sora and Kairi were so happy together that they girls could not bare to separate them so soon after their engagement.

On the fifteenth day, Sashi and Becky sat in their room with Merlin.

"So, when are you going home Merlin?" Becky asked, hanging upside down from the bed.

"I suppose as soon as Kairi is settled in." he answered.

"She's already been here six months though."

Dogan entered the room. "Come on guys, time to go."

The four walked down the corridor to the main entrance doors.

"Where's Sora?" Sashi asked.

"He's saying goodbye to Kairi."

As soon as the words escaped his mouth, Sashi and Becky stopped dead in their tracks. They had that look in their eyes and once again drifted off into a vision. They saw themselves flying with a few young boys and the vision ended.

Sashi and Becky then found themselves back in Disney Castle.

"Where to next?" Dogan asked as if it were now so regular to them all.

"Neverland." They answered simultaneously.

"To Neverland." Dogan announced.

You're going to Neverland?" Goofy asked, approaching the travelers.

"You're coming too Goofy." Dogan said.

"No." Donald retorted, stepping beside his companion.

"What do you mean no?" Sora yelled, finally catching up with the others. Kairi walked beside him.

"The king says you'll be all right on your own. He says that we can stay home now." Goofy explained. "King Mickey also said that you're all grown up and don't need babysitters anymore. Never did tell us who those babysitter were."

"Oh boy." Donald sighed and shook his head.

"We're gonna miss you guys." Becky laughed.

"We're gonna miss you too." Donald said.

Hugs were exchanged and they headed out to the steps. As the other said their final goodbyes, Sashi noticed something moving at the bottom of the steps.

"Riku!" Sashi yelled, smiling, and ran down to greet him.

Kairi quickly gazed down the steps and saw her long, lost friend. She smiled as she saw Riku look up at the others.

As soon as Sashi reached the bottom steps, Riku wasted no time. He wrapped his arms around Sashi and placed his lips on hers. Sashi wasn't exactly expecting this, yet she found her liking it. He let go and Sashi stood in amazement. Riku prepared himself for the black eye her was about to receive. But it did not come. Instead, Sashi jumped into Riku arms and kissed him right back. He lifted her up and the young woman wrapped her legs around his waist.

Everyone stood at the top of this stairs in awe. They had all expected Riku to be punched as well. They descended the stairs slowly, but Sashi and Riku kept that kiss.

"Sashi!" Becky yelled.

A few more steps.

"Sashi?"

And a few more.

"Sashi, honey, you gotta breathe at some point!"

Sashi let go.

"Hi." She breathed.

"If that's the greeting I'm gonna get every time I come back, I'm leaving a whole lot more." Riku whispered.

"If you two are quite through, I'd like to leave now."

Riku let Sashi down and they turned toward the others. Kairi stood smiling. She quickly found herself in Riku arms. Riku picked her up off the ground and spun around a few times.

"I missed you." She whispered.

"I missed you too."

Kairi stepped back.

"So, I hear little Sora's going to be a husband." Riku said.

"Hey, how'd you know?"

"Let's just say some of the powers of the All-Knowing Sashi rubbed off on me." She laughed, taking Sashi's waist.

"This is all cute but…"

"Dogan, be quiet." Becky snapped, taking his hand and laying a kiss on his lips.

Riku took something out of his pocket and threw it to Dogan.

"What's this?"

"Consider it a peace treaty."

It was silver chain with dog tags on them. Engraved on the dog tags was this: _If found, please return to Becky._

"Cute. Very cute. That's really funny captain"

"I thought you'd like them."

And from afar, Maleficent watched them through her magic mirror.

"This is cute and all, but it's time to end it."

AN: You might as well get used to the fact that it takes me a long time to finish chapters. I apologize. Things will be better once I get my labtop. Keep reading!


	16. One Last Time of Peace

_**Chapter 16: One Last Time of Peace**_

_If only I wasn't afraid that if I didn't put one of these here, I'd get sued or something… New equals mine… Old equals theirs (Disney and SquareSoft)._

"Hey Peter, are you hungry?"

"No. Why?"

"'Cause you're about to eat my dust!"

Sashi burst off far ahead of Peter. But that didn't stop him, oh no. Sashi laughed, quiet pleased with herself for being so far ahead of the young boy. That is until Peter came flying passed her.

"Cheat!" she yelled, beginning to jump into the air and flapping her arms. "I don't know how to fly yet!"

The others stood at the finish line awaiting Sashi and Peter.

"Here comes Peter!" one of the Lost Boys cried out. "We're going to win! We're going to win!"

"Shut up Bunny Boy, he's still gotta cross the finish line." Dogan snapped, looking into the trees for Sashi.

"Listen here Mr. Wizard-Man, I-"

"Cheat! Cheat!" Sashi yelled, sprinting out of the trees.

Peter came to an immediate stop, directly in front of the finish line. Sashi stopped a few steps behind him, titling her head in confusion.

"What are you doing?" she asked, confused and annoyed, not to mention out of breath.

Peter smiled, casually stepping over the finish line.

"Oh that was harsh."

"That makes the score two to one. We win! You don't get to be Lost Boys!" a Lost Boy yelled in glee.

"And girls!" another yelled as Sashi and Becky glared toward them.

"Rematch." Sashi said, finally catching her breath.

Peter picked himself from a leaning position to catch his breath. "You wanna race again?"

She shook her head playfully. "No."

"How then?"

Sashi smiled devilishly. "Baseball."

Peter returned the smile. "Okay. Terms?"

"My team wins, we got to be Lost Boys. Your team wins," she paused, her smile increasing, "and you get the honor of knighting us Lost Boys. Deal?"

Sashi stuck her hand out to Peter. The young boy kept his smile on as he shook her hand.

"PETER!" the Lost Boys shouted.

"That seemed a bit too easy." Sashi smiled mischievously, shaking Peter's hand.

"You really think I wouldn't catch that?"

"Ah… Sashi, you seem to have forgotten something." Dogan said, poking his head out around Peter.

"What is that deary?" she smiled, still shaking Peter's hand.

"Sora, Captain, and I don't know how to play baseball."

"You haven't taught us yet." Sora voiced.

Becky shook her head. "Boys, be silent and watch Sashi work her magic."

"No no no! No magic!" Riku yelled.

Peter laughed and finally let go of Sashi's hand. Sashi laughed along with him, nodding slightly.

"All right, on your knees."

Sashi came to her knee; Becky followed.

"Did you catch what just happened?" Sora asked, leaning toward Riku.

"Not a thing." He answered.

"Amazingly, I think I did." Dogan said, kneeling down next to Becky.

Sora and Riku knelt as well, still a good deal confused.

Peter walked by each of them, tapping them on he shoulder with a stick.

"I hereby dub you all Lost Boys." He announced, then caught a glimpse of Sashi and Becky. "And Lost Girls."

The group stood up, smiling at their new status.

"Since we're not playing for competition anymore," Dogan dropped to his knees again and wrapped his arms around Sashi's legs, "please teach me how to play baseball!"

Sashi stumbled a bit, feeling Dogan squeeze her legs harder as the seconds passed.

"Hey, hey, hey! You wanna hug somebody's legs, go hug your own girlfriends. Don't be hugging mine." Riku said as he grabbed Sashi's arm and tried to pull her away.

"Becky, get your guy off of me!" Sashi yelled, struggling for balance.

"Dogan let go of Sashi."

"Yes Becky."

Dogan let go and stood up.

"You are whipped boy." Sashi laughed, walking over to Riku and taking his hand. "Come on, go find a stick and I'll teach you all how to play baseball."

Dogan smiled, grabbed Becky's hand, and ran off into the forest to search for a stick.

----

"What's the matter Merlin?" Kairi asked, bouncing into the wizard's room.

"I don't know. But I feel something is going to happen to Becky, Sashi, Dogan, and Sora. And I fear it's nothing good." Merlin responded, standing over a boiling cauldron.

"What? What's going to happen to them Merlin?" Kairi asked, her cheerful and bubbly mood fading away completely into fear and panic.

"I don't know my dear. I'm trying to figure it out, but nothing is working. I fear that dark magic may be involved. That's the only explanation. That would be the only reason my vision is being blocked."

Kairi paused, as if afraid of what she was going to say next. "Merlin?"

"Yes Kairi?" Merlin answered, still gazing into the cauldron.

"You know who would be able to find out, don't you?"

Merlin sighed in painful frustration. "Yes."

"You know what you have to do then. You have to summon her. You have to speak with her."

"I can't."

"She's the only one who can see both light and dark magic. She's the only one who can help."

"It's been so long. I don't think I can face her."

"Well you have to!" she yelled, approaching the old wizard. "I won't lose him again."

Merlin sighed once more. "You're right. This must be done."

Kairi nodded gratefully and departed from the room, closing the door behind her.

Merlin walked over to a cabinet and pulled a small vial off one of the shelves; it contained a black liquid. Once again, he stood over the cauldron and poured in the liquid from the vial. The cauldron ceased boiling for a moment, then black smoke rose from it in a sudden burst. The room grew dark and cold.

"Hello Morgana." Merlin said. He turned around and there she stood before him.

The grey witch bowed her head.

"You know why I have called you here?"

"You can foretell something will happen, but it's on my side of the realm." She answered, her voice smooth and coy.

"I need your help Morgana. I cannot allow anything to befall those children; especially those girls."

"Ah yes, our dear sweet Protectors."

"Will you help me?"

Morgana did not answer.

"Please." Merlin whispered.

Morgana bowed her head slightly. "I'll need your cauldron."

"Of course." Merlin answered.

Morgana outstretched her hand and a vial filled with blue liquid appeared. She tossed the vial into the cauldron and another burst of smoke rose and flowed onto the floor. The room filled with the smoke and Morgana leaned over the now still cauldron.

"What do you see?" Merlin asked quietly.

"Baseball."

"What?"

Morgana repeated her answer. "Baseball. They're playing baseball with the Lost Boys."

The sound of a strong gust of wind suddenly filled the dark room.

"Now what?"

"They're sitting around a fire. They appear to be having a good time."

Again, the sound of the wind echoed in the room.

"Now what?"

Morgana did not answer as quickly as before. Her eyes revealed fear.

"Morgana?"

The dull and faded sounds of screams and an ax moving through the air came from the cauldron.

"What is that? What do you see?" Merlin demanded.

Morgana quickly waved her hand over the cauldron. The sounds, the fog, and the darkness disappeared within an instant.

"They're in trouble."

"What was happening? What were those sounds?" Merlin asked, panic rising within him.

"What do you think?" Morgana answered, turning toward the old man.

It was all clear now. Unless something was done, they would all be dead by morning.

"Who?" Merlin asked.

"A young girl that acts as Maleficent's little henchman. Goes by the name Akida."

Merlin stepped back a bit at the sound of this news. "What was her name?"

"Akida." Morgana repeated. "What's the matter? Do you know her?"

"Dogan…" he whispered, turning away from the witch. "Thank you Morgana. You are truly amazing."

Morgana bowed, although she knew Merlin could not see this act. "As are you."

And with that, Morgana faded into the shadows and Merlin exited the room, heading for the throne room.

----

"All right, you understand what to do now?" Sashi shouted from the pitchers mound of the makeshift baseball diamond they had all constructed.

"Yeah!" Sora yelled back from the batter's box.

"Okay, so when I throw the ball…"

"I try to hit it with the stick. I mean bat." Sora corrected himself.

"Good. Ready?"

Sora nodded.

"Bend your knees more." Becky advised, kneeling behind Sora, acting as a catcher.

Sora did as he was told and waited for the pitch.

Sashi nodded to Becky and threw the ball lightly to her. Sora swung and missed the ball completely. Becky stood up and threw the ball back to Sashi.

"That's all right. Good cut." Sashi yelled.

"I got a cut?"

"Baseball term. Means swing." Becky enlightened the young man.

"Oh…"

"Try again. This time, make sure your hips turn first right after you step forward." She instructed, demonstrating what to do.

"Always keep your eye on the ball. Even after you hit it, keep your head down." Becky added in.

Sora took his stance again and Sashi threw the ball. And again, he swung and missed.

"Guess being a Keyblade master doesn't count for baseball." Sashi laughed.

"That was only two. I get three stripes." Sora called out, trying to salvage some sort of dignity for himself.

"It's called a strike."

"I knew that!"

Before Sora knew it, he was on the side lines having struck out. He, a Keyblade master, had struck out. He could destroy all sorts of dark and evil creatures with a swing of his blade, but he could not hit a lousy ball.

"Next victim!" Sashi yelled in glee. "How many is that now Becky?"

"About half of the Lost Boys plus Sora and Riku. One more and you'll have a new record." Becky answered.

"Who's up next?"

Sashi watched as the ever-popular wizard-in-training grabbed the makeshift bat from Sora and step up to the plate.

"New record here I come." She whispered to herself.

Strike one.

Strike two.

Sashi smiled to herself in great satisfaction. Before the third pitch was thrown, Becky stood up and whispered something into Dogan's ear. He nodded slightly, and Becky resumed her stop behind him. Sashi ignored the brief interruption, twisting the ball around in her hand. Just as she was rearing her arm back to give Dogan a nice, easy pitch, he shouted something from the batter's box.

"Come pitcher, is that all you got? Show me the heat!"

Sashi stopped her arm and stood in utter shock.

"Oh now you've gone too far." She said.

Becky grinned as she saw the fire build with the blonde.

"You shouldn't have said that." Sashi laughed.

"Wait, wait, wait! What did I say? I don't even know what it means! Please don't hurt me!" Dogan pleaded.

Sashi turned to the side and took a deep breathe. She lifted her eyes to Becky, who merely showed her number one with her finger. Fastball; Sashi's favorite. She looked back at the ground. All went silent in her mind. She gripped the ball tightly and spun it a few times around in her hand. She lifted her arms above her head, along with lifting her leg and stepping forward. Her right arm went back and came down passed her head faster than ever before. The ball flew from her fingertips and whizzed toward Dogan.

Sashi jerked her head back and watched as the ball soared through the air. Her jaw dropped. Dogan, among all people, had hit her best pitch. Not only did he hit it, he sent it clear out of the park. She turned back around slowly, still in shock, to fin Dogan as stunned as she was.

"Opps! Wasn't me! Sorry!" he shouted, hiding the bat behind him.

"Dogan, that's what you're supposed to do!"

"It is?"

"Run the bases!" Sashi yelled as she saw the ball being thrown back to her from left field. She caught it and turned to home plate.

"Run the what?" Dogan asked, still unable to grasp what he had just done.

"I'm gonna get you out!"

"You're gonna take me out? But I like the other one!" Dogan shouted back, pointing at Becky.

"Dogan! You are a disgrace to the game of baseball!"

"Thank you!"

----

Hatred ran though her heart. Anger surged though her body. And revenge was the only thing on Akida's mind.

With every step she took, the countless scars on her back sent new pain pulsing though her veins. She was not going to let that stop her though. The pain did not seem to stop her, yet rather push her forward.

She would not rest until her job was done. She would get her revenge and be doing her job at the same time. That idea pushed her forward as well.

She had gotten what she deserved for her betrayal. Now Riku would get what he deserved. He deserved to feel the pain she had gone through for him. She had gone against her orders for him. She had suffered through hours of punishment for him. Now it was his turn.

It was not Akida's fault she fell in love with Riku. Or rather just became utterly obsessed with him. It was not her fault she had spent a night with him. He had invited her into _his_ bed. It was his fault; his and no one else's. At least, that's what Akida though.

Akida believed in what ran through her head. She never went against herself. Once she had claimed something to be a certain way, there was no changing it. And Akida was set on believing that Riku had to die. He needed to suffer. He needed to have his life torn from him bit by bit. Just as Akida.

Akida's life had been torn from her ever since she was eight. She could not remember anything before that, though she knew there must be something. Ever since she was eight, she belonged to Maleficent. And even though Maleficent had told her that the only way she would live was to come with her into the darkness, Akida had been dying all along. Everyday another part of her would fade away. Her life was being taken away from her, piece by piece. She never let it bother her though. She was still living and that is all that matter. Yes, she was dying, but she had not died yet. And that gave her time. Time to do what she had to. To finish what she started. To rid herself of the one thing she loved and hated above all.

Dusk had fallen on Neverland. Akida walked along the shoreline, hoping the waves would wash away her footprints. She kept her hands to her sides, close to her ax. She was not going to fail this time. She was going to do her job and do it right. She was going to kill Riku once and for all. And she was not going to leave until Riku's blood tainted the blade of her ax.

Nothing could stop her now. Not even death. Death did not bother Akida. She had been dying since she was eight. It would not stop her now. Not after all these years.

Or would it?

----

Sora sat against a tree, laughing at the shapes Sashi and Becky were casting the fire to make.

Dogan sat on the sand against a log, his arms wrapped around the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Becky sat on Dogan's lap. A blanket was wrapped around both of them. Her eyes were focused on the fire and she laughed as she changed the pictures in it. Both her hands interlocked with Dogan's.

Riku was standing against another tree. He too was laughing at the shapes. Sashi stood in front of him, leaning back against his chest. His arms were around her waist and his hands rested on her bare stomach. Her hands lay atop his and her eyes were focused on the fire as well.

Life was good. Life could not get any better.

Out of nowhere, a small flicker of white light shot passed Sora and began to fly around Dogan and Becky. Everyone knew what, or rather who it was instantly. She landed on Sashi's shoulder.

"So Sashi, how does it fell to know that Tinkerbelle is sitting on your shoulder?" Becky asked, smiling.

"Well, to tell you the truth, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside." She answered, hummer in her tone. "Ah!" she screamed, slapping Riku's hand. "Stop tickling me!"

Without them noticing, Tinkerbelle flew off Sashi's shoulder and began to encircle her and Riku. In a moment, they were floated at least a foot above the ground.

"Bye Sashi." Becky laughed, waving.

"Where am I going?" Sashi asked innocently.

"Up."

"Up?" Sashi looked down. "Ah! Put me down! Put me down!"

"Oh, stop complaining." Riku demanded with laughter.

Dogan, Becky, and Sora watched as the two disappeared into the night sky. The three sat there for a few moments in blissful silence until Sora spoke out.

"Hey Becky, how old would Ruby and Nick be by now?" he asked, trying to break their attention away from where Riku and Sashi had flown off to.

Becky looked at Sora in puzzlement. That look scared Sora, but not as much as her answer did.

"Who?"

Sora glanced over at Dogan, then back to Becky.

"Ruby and Nick?" he repeated.

The young woman's puzzled looked increased.

"I know a Nick and Ruby?"

"That's not funny Becky." Dogan said, sitting up straight.

"I'm not trying to be funny. Who are they? Did we meet them in the Olympus Coliseum?" she looked back to Sora. "Are they Lost Boys?"

Dogan maneuvered himself out from behind Becky and sat in front of her, looking directly into her eyes.

"Becky, they're your brother and sister."

Becky burst out in a quick laugh. "That's funny you two. Real funny."

"We're not being funny." Sora snapped.

Becky stopped laughing. "I don't have a brother or a sister."

Sora grabbed Becky's wrists.

"What are you doing?" Becky struggled for freedom.

"Listen to me very carefully Becky. Do you remember Luke?" he demanded.

"Who?"

"Where did you come from? Before we met you?" Dogan asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Home Becky. Where's home?"

Becky did not answer.

"Who are you?" Sora asked, releasing her wrists.

Becky took a few deep breathes. "I'm Becky, Protector of the Kingdoms and wielder of the Keyhole."

The boys sat back in horror. If only it would end there….

Akida starred down at the three from a cliff nearby. She waited. Waited for the right moment. The right moment to show herself. To strike. To kill. She watched as Sashi and Riku floated back down to their original spot on the ground. Standing up, she grinned.

"I win." She whispered.

"Just a moment young lady."

Akida whipped around and her black eyes fell upon an elderly man in blue robes.

"Who are you old timer?" she questioned, reaching for her ax.

"I am the wizard Merlin."

"Oh." Akida responded and took out her weapon. "Good for you." She turned and began to walk away.

"You're not going anywhere." Merlin said, waving his wave toward Akida's path.

Akida stepped back as she walked into an invisible wall.

"What do you want old man?" she asked in frustration.

"I cannot allow you to hurts those kids."

Akida laughed. "And who's going to stop me? You? You'll have to kill me to stop me."

"If it comes to that." Merlin replied.

"Listen, no one is going to stop me this time. I've come to finish what I've started. And I'm not leaving until I've ended it once and for all." Akida voiced angrily, playing with her ax. "What are you going to do?"

Merlin lifted his wand, pointing it straight at Akida. A white light shot out from the wand and hit Akida's body, knocking her back onto the ground. The pain did not matter though. The black haired girl forced herself to her feet.

"My turn." She mused in pain.

Sashi's eyesight went dark, a wave a fear taking control of her. She shuddered as a picture was revealed in the darkness. Her sight returned.

"What's the matter Sashi?" Dogan asked, turning his attention from Becky.

She turned to the hill behind them. "Merlin."

Releasing herself from Riku's grip, Sashi sprinted off across the hills. She soon came to the cliff where Akida had peered down at them. She came to an abrupt stop as her eyes fell on a terrifying sight.

"Merlin!"

"Boss!"

AN: Yes, yes, I know… a long time again. But I have good news… I got my labtop! I'll have the last chapter up sooner, I promise! Oh, keep reading to find out what happens!


	17. Mirages of Hope

_**Chapter 17: Mirages of Hope**_

_Yet another disclaimer: My characters are mine (duh!), and all the others are legally owned by SquareSoft and Disney._

"Dogan…" Merlin looked over and saw his young apprentice watching in horror. She could not kill this girl in front of him. No matter what she would do if he did not. Not in front of Dogan. It had been so long. He could not take her away from him after all those years of pain and searching.

As Merlin gazed at Dogan, Akida lifted her ax into the air.

"No!" Sashi screamed as she ran forward. As if matters could not get any worse, they obviously did. Sashi ran straight into Merlin's invisible wall and fell backwards onto the ground.

"Akida don't!" Riku yelled as he ran into view.

Merlin turned his head to Akida and the axe left its mid-air position.

"BOSS!"

"MERLIN!" Becky screamed.

"NO!" Sashi yelled, getting up from the grass.

The invisible wall disappeared.

Akida lifted her head, looked at Sashi, and smiled. She placed her axe on her shoulder. The blade was tinted crimson. Three single drops of blood fell from it onto the ground. She began to laugh as the first drops of rain started to fall.

Merlin began to fall backwards. Dogan sprinted toward the old wizard and caught him seconds before he hit the ground. Dogan fell to his knees and held Merlin in his arms.

A crimson liquid poured out of Merlin's stomach. Dogan tried to cover it with his boss's long robes, but the fluid kept filtering out of Merlin's body.

"Couraga!" Dogan screamed.

The wound did not close. The blood did not cease.

"Boss? Boss, wha… what do I do boss? What do I do?" Dogan stammered as tears rolled from his grey eyes.

Merlin put his hand on Dogan's cheek. "Keep living."

"Not without you boss. I'm a helpless klutz, remember? I need you around to tell me what to do." The young boy shivered in fear, gasping for breath between tears.

"You'll be… all right my boy. I… I have… faith in you. You're going to make a great wizard." Merlin whispered, blood beginning to trickle from his mouth. "Don't hurt the girl Dogan. She's not who you think she is. She's something much more. She's Ak…" Merlin's eyes fluttered and started to close.

"Boss! Keep your eyes open please. You can't die boss! You can't! I need you! I need you here with me!"

"Sh…" the old man hushed.

"Stay with me boss. Don't go." Dogan pleaded.

"Listen to me very carefully Dogan. Learn this and trust it. What lies behind us and what lies before us are but tiny matters compared to what lies within us." Merlin closed his eyes and drew his last breath.

"Oh no…" Sashi gasped. She dropped to her knees and began to cry loudly.

Becky did the same a few feet back. The rain came down harder now.

"Boss…" Dogan whispered. He brought Merlin's body close to him and held on tight. "Boss, please wake up. Please boss. I'm sorry boss. Please, come back so I can tell you I'm sorry."

Dogan kept repeating phrases like these. Even though he did, deep down, he knew Merlin's eyes would never open and he would never live again

Dogan's breathing was fast heavy. His eyes had turned red from the tears. He placed Merlin's body on the ground.

"Boss!" he screamed, placing his head down on Merlin's chest. "Wake up! You can't leave me! Boss!" He lifted his head back up. "You saved my life once. And when you needed me, I couldn't save you. Boss, open your eyes."

Dogan's tears fell onto Merlin, yet he remained still.

Dogan got up and turned to Becky. She got up and stood in front of him.

"He's not waking up, is he?" the young wizard-in-training muttered softly.

Becky shook her head as her tears fell to the ground. "No."

Dogan dropped to his knees and placed his head onto Becky's stomach. Becky stoked his hair gently.

"I couldn't save him." Dogan whispered.

Riku stood to the side, trying his best not to break down and start bawling. He lifted his eyes. The first thing he saw was Akida wearing a satisfying grin on her face. She looked toward him, her axe still slung over her shoulder.

"Hello my love." She smiled

Riku took out his Keyblade from his sheath.

"You went too far this time Akida."

Dogan's head snapped up and over to the young woman all in black.

"Akida?" he whispered in shock and terror. "You're alive?"

"Not for long." Riku said as he swung his Keyblade at Akida.

Dogan, Sora, Becky, and Sashi all charged at the two teens. They all stopped suddenly though. Not by choice, but because their legs would not respond anymore. Sashi looked up and saw Riku with his hand stretched out to the other four.

"This is my fight." He whispered.

"No Riku! You don't understand!" Dogan began. "She's-"

"Riku look out!" Sora cried out as Akida swung her axe at his friend.

"Riku stop!" Dogan demanded as the silver-haired boy blocked Akida's blow.

"Shut up Doggy!" Riku yelled pushing Akida back.

"Yes indeed, do shut up." Akida repeated, waving her hand toward Dogan. As she had once done to Riku, Dogan was magical gagged.

The four teens struggled for freedom as they watched Riku and Akida swing their weapons at each other with all intent to kill the other.

"Couldn't stand being away from me, huh? Those scars weren't enough to keep you away?"

Akida's axe zipped passed Riku's stomach and sliced a gash though his shirt.

"Those scars are the reason I'm here." She answered him, quite calmly.

"How is that?" Riku asked, dodging another blow.

"I'm here to get revenge for those scars. I wouldn't have gotten them if I didn't have to remember you, and I wouldn't have to remember you if I was never with you! So in the end, this is all your fault!"

"Shut up!"

"You killed the old man! You gave me these scars! You invited me into your bed! You ruined my life!"

"Shut up!" Riku swung harder.

"What? Don't want your new girlfriend finding out who you really are?" she asked sadistically.

Riku did not answer this time. In seconds, Riku's blade and Akida's axe were interlocked above their heads and they stood face to face.

"Don't you think it's time she knew?" the black-eyed girl whispered.

"You fucking son of a bitch."

"I know I am." She then directed her speech to Sashi, who was still struggling to release herself from Riku's spell. "He didn't tell you he had lost his virginity in Kingdom Hearts, did he?"

Riku pushed on his blade, releasing himself from Akida's axe and backed away.

"Bet he didn't tell you he's been in Kingdom Hearts for the passed two years either?" Akida rocked about, holding her axe out in front of her.

"I bet he didn't even tell you he'd been working for Maleficent and Ansem."

That blew the last fuse. Riku dove onto Akida, but she was not about to give in. She got up and swung her axe at Riku's Keyblade. The blade went flying through the air. She swung again. Riku back away. He kept backing up until he tripped over a stone jutting out of the ground and fell on his back.

"No!" Sashi screamed, as her legs slowly began to move.

Dogan stood next to her, trying to free himself form the gag.

Akida stood over Riku. Her face was red and her braids messy. Her hands were sweaty, but she kept that smile on.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to do this."

Akida lifted her axe above her head.

_Wait… I'm a Protector… I should be able to break through this…_ Without knowing what she was doing, Sashi turned to Dogan and snapped her fingers. The magical gag disappeared.

"Aki don't!" Dogan yelled.

Akida whipped her head around toward the grey-eyed boy.

"What did you call me?" she asked gently.

Riku took advantage of this distraction. He sat up quickly, pulled out the dagger from Akida's boot and…

"NO!"

Riku shoved the dagger into Akida's chest. The young woman's axe fell to the earth. She looked down at the dagger protruding from her chest, then up at Dogan. A flash of light came from her body, and her eyes turned a brilliant gold.

"What the fuck?" Riku whispered.

"Aki?" Dogan whispered, tears streaming down his face.

"Dogan." Akida smiled. "I remember."

With those words, the young assassin fell backwards onto the dirt and shut her eyes.

"Aki!"

Sashi snapped her fingers again and their legs were released.

"Who the hell is Aki?" Riku questioned as Dogan ran passed him to Akida's body.

"You bastard!" he yelled turning to Riku. "She was my sister! She was my sister!"

Dogan reached back and took out his crossbow. In a fit of rage, the young man fired a blot and Riku's heart. Riku shut his eyes in panic. The bolt did not enter his body though. Opening his eyes, Riku saw Sashi standing next to him, the bolt clenched in her fist.

"Death would be too good for him." She mused.

Sashi stared at Riku in disgust. Her eyes were soaked with tears and her body shook as she tried to hold it all it.

"Now you know." Riku breathed.

Sashi tightened her grip on the bolt.

"Leave."

Riku remained still until the command was repeated.

"Leave!"

Riku turned around and walked away, leaving Sashi, Becky, Dogan, Sora, and the bodies of Merlin and Akida behind in the pouring rain.

----

Who would have known that within a few short hours life could be gong so well then snap you in half? Life would never be the same again for the weary travelers. Life broke them all into thousands of pieces. Then, it took those pieces and shattered them into dust and cast them to the northern wind.

Merlin, among all people, was dead. The greatest wizard ever to live was no more. A grand and mythical legend among the people of Sashi and Becky's world and a truth to all others. That's all he was now, a legend. Something that would live on forever in a person's imagination. But for the few that knew him, Merlin would live on in their hearts.

Her last words still ran through Dogan's head: "I remember." As ridiculous as it sounds, Akida _was_ Dogan's long lost twin sister. She was his Aki, the one he had been searching for since he was eight. And new she was gone forever. She was nothing more than a memory.

That's the way everything winds up being.

----

The week passed by slowly. Dogan did not speak much. Sashi kept to herself. And there was no sign of Riku anywhere.

"Hey Sashi."

Sashi looked up from her sit by the water.

"Hey Becky."

Becky took a seat next to her friend. She took hold of Sashi's arm and rested her head on her friend's shoulder.

"You okay? For the most part?" Becky asked.

"Yeah." Sashi responded, gazing out at the water.

"You sure?"

"I'll be fine. Just another test. That's all it was. I'll get over it and we'll move on. Can't be distracted, can we? You know, having to save the worlds and all." Sashi did not even know what she was saying. A stream of consciousness just began to pour from her mouth. "I'm okay…"

"Okay." Becky nodded, lifted her head off Sashi's shoulder. "Have you seen Dogan lately?"

"He's up by the forest." Sashi's eyes never left the water.

"Okay. I'll see you later, all right?" Becky placed a light kiss on Sashi's cheek, got up, and began to walk toward the forest on top of the hill.

"Thank you Becky."

Becky smiled and kept walking, leaving Sashi by herself once again. She soon came upon Sora sitting by a fire. He stared into the fire blankly and tossed about his Keyblade in his hands.

"You know, you should get some sleep." Becky said, approaching him.

Sora continued to stare into the fire. "I don't need any sleep." He said in a tone of voice as blank as his stare.

The young red-head stood above Sora and sighed.

"Forgive me." She whispered.

"For what?"

Becky passed her hand over the young Keyblade master and a black dust fell from it. Sora's eyes quickly closed and he fell backwards, passing out completely. Becky kneeled down beside him and stroked his hair. She laid him out next to the fire, placing the Keyblade next to him.

"Sleep well Sora. Sleep well."

Becky stood up and left Sora to sleep. When she reached the edge of the forest, she found Dogan lying on his back looking up at the stars.

"What are you doing?" she asked, walking up to him.

"Thinking." He said, keeping his eyes on the stars.

Becky plopped down next to him. He outstretched his arms to her and she laid her head down on his chest. He wrapped on arm around her. Becky placed her head under the boy's chin.

"About what?" she asked.

"Sashi."

"Why?"

Dogan took a deep breath. "Riku's done some bad shit to her, but this is just wrong. And then he goes and just disappears on her. He should have at least stayed and given her some sort of explanation. Or at least given her a chance to beat the shit out of him."

"She'll be all right; she's Sashi." Becky faked a smile.

"Yeah." Dogan held her tighter.

All of a sudden, Becky rose up and held her self over Dogan.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Now what are you thinking about?" she asked with a suggestive tone of voice.

"Whether or not this is going to result in you yelling at me." He answered truthfully.

Becky leaned down and laid a kiss on his lips.

"Now?"

"Can't say it out loud." He answered.

Becky smiled. "Why not?"

"There are children on this island."

Becky laughed and kissed him again. Suddenly, she jolted back.

"Oh shit…"

"What?"

Becky looked terrified, sitting back up.

"It's not even a full week after Merlin and Akida's death and here I am getting horny." She said, running her fingers through her red hair.

"Well, I don't know what horny means, but if it has anything to do with what I think it does," he grabbed her hand, "don't worry about it. Boss wanted me to keep living."

He pulled her back down and rolled over on the grass.

----

Sashi stood at the edge of the water, tears running down her cheeks. She sat down, slipping off her boots, and stood up again. She took off her cloak and threw it on top of her boots. She stepped into the water and kept walking until the water was half way to her knees. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of the clear water on her legs.

She knew it would not last for long. One way or another, her Lockblades would be unsheathed. Something moved behind her. She clasped her hands on the Lockblades. It was at the water's edge. Sashi waited. She wanted to make this kill good. It was now in the water.

Sashi whipped around and pulled out the Lockblades. They were instantly dropped into the water as the young woman's eyes fell upon a tear jerking sight: Riku.

Sashi's eyes swelled up with fresh tears. Her fingers curled together to form fists. She ran up to Riku and began to bang her fists against his chest. Riku stood still and took his punishment.

Sashi fell to her knees after she could no longer produce any more combinations of profanity. When she hit the water, droplets splashed onto her and Riku.

"Why do you do this to me?" Sashi cried. "Why do you torture me like this?"

Riku knelt down in front of her.

"Just tell me it's not true. Tell me it's not true and I'll forget it ever happened."

Riku put his hands on Sashi's cheeks. She grabbed onto his wrists.

"No more lies Sashi." He said. "I spent the last two years in Kingdom Hearts. I spent a night-"

"No, no, no…"

"Stop Sashi." He commanded, and went on. "I spent a night with Akida. I was working for Ansem and Maleficent."

"Stop. Why are you doing this?" she wept.

"Because it's true Sashi. All of it is true."

Sashi looked up into Riku's eyes. There was no lie in his eyes.

"So this whole time," she removed Riku's hands from her cheeks yet held onto his wrists, "You were bringing up to Kingdom Hearts to hand Becky and I over to Maleficent and Ansem."

"Yes." Riku answered, tears forming in his green eyes.

"And this whole thing between you and I… it was just part of your job."

"No." he snapped. "Sashi, you gave me back my heart. You taught me how to use it again. You gave me back my life. Anything and everything I've felt for you has nothing to do with you being a Protector or Ansem and Maleficent." She explained.

"Bull." Sashi got up and tried to walk away.

Riku grabbed her wrist.

"I'm telling the truth Sashi."

"Twice in seven months. You're on a roll."

"Listen to me-"

"No! Nothing was real!"

"Everything was real! All of it was real because in these passed seven months I fell in love with you Sashi!" Riku yelled.

Sashi stomach flipped in shock.

"You… you what?" he cried softly.

"I love you Sashi." Riku repeated.

Sashi's tears multiplied and streamed down her cheeks faster.

"And how do I know that's not another lie? Tell me, how am I supposed to believe that?"

Riku's voice softened.

"Sashi, if I only have on more night to live, I'd spend it with you. Even if I only got to watch you sleep while standing outside your bedroom window in the pouring rain."

Sashi's stomach did another flip. She placed her palm on Riku's cheek. He turned his head and placed a kiss on her palm.

_I am not feeling this. I'm not… I am. How does he make me feel this way? How does he do it so quickly?_ Sashi thought.

"You don't have to stand outside alone." She whispered.

Sashi took her hand away from Riku's cheek and brought it to her shirt. With one hand, Sashi lifted her shirt off and threw it on the grass. Sashi took her bandana off as well and pulled out her braids. Her shoulder length hair draped on top of her bare shoulders.

Riku stared up at her, speechless. His eyes followed a drop of water that trickled down Sashi's body and a wave of want swept over him.

"Thought you hated me a second ago." He said, still in utter shock.

"I'll go back to hating you after."

Sashi slid down and sat on Riku's knees. She ran her hands along Riku's shoulders, slid his vest off, and tossed it over with her shirt. She traveled down his chest and untucked his wet and dirty dark grey tee-shirt. Finally realizing that all this was really happening, Riku lifted his shirt over his head and tossed it onto the grass.

Sashi's bare stomach rubbed against Riku's chest. His was for her increased immensely. She placed the back of her hand on Riku's cheek and ran her fingertips sown his neck. It was no longer a want for her, but rather a need.

_I've gotta be dreaming. Either that, or Akida has risen from the grave and come back to haunt me._

Riku looked up into Sashi's eyes and smiled.

"Green." He smiled and placed his hands on her cheeks.

"What?" she laughed.

Riku stood up, taking Sashi along with him. She quickly wrapped her legs around his waist and he wrapped his arms around hers. He spun around a bit, laughing aloud.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" he said, stopping.

Sashi answered in laughter.

"I've been meaning to tell you that since that night at the Olympus Coliseum." His voice softened.

"So I'm not a boxing champion anymore?"

"No, you're still a boxing champion. But now you're a beautiful boxing champion." Riku responded.

He began to spin around again, coming onto the grass and out of the water. As he reached the solid ground, he tripped over a few small rocks. Losing his balance, Riku fell forward and Sashi's back hit the soft ground.

"I think you did that on purpose." Sashi said.

Riku looked at her in confusion. Then, realizing the position he was in, he smiled devilishly.

"Maybe. Maybe not. You'll never know."

Riku leaned forward and kissed Sashi. He ran his hand down the side of her body, feeling every goose bump forming on her skin. His hand glided over Sashi's bare stomach. Riku moved his hand further down and unbuckled Sashi's belt. He unbuttoned her pants and pulled down the zipper. Sashi took hold of the sides of her pants and slipped them off.

Sashi wrapped her arms around Riku's neck. Once again, he placed his hand on her bare stomach. The young man could feel her pulse beating fast and hard. He slid his hand to her back and lifted her body up to his. Sashi bent her leg, running her hands along Riku's back.

Sashi pulled back from his kiss and took a deep breath.

"Promise me something." She whispered.

"Anything." He answered, his breathing deep and fast.

"Promise me always and forever. No matter what happens from this point on, no matter how this battle with good and evil ends, let me have always and forever."

"Always and forever."

Riku pulled her in closer and placed his lips on hers again.

----

Riku lay awake on the grass with Sashi's head resting on his chest. He watched his lover sleep and smiled to himself. He placed a small kiss on the young blonde's forehead and laid her head on the grass. Getting up, he found his pants and slipped them on. He slipped his boots on, grabbed his shirt and vest, and exited the tent.

Putting on his vest, Riku began to walk along the water's edge. It had to be six or seven in the morning. He zipped up his pants and buttoned them. He had never been happier, not even when he had been on his island.

Nothing could go wrong. But, of course, they did.

"You bastard."

Dogan grabbed Riku's shoulder and spun him around. The young wizard brought his fist directly into Riku's face, sending him down to the ground. Dogan assisted him off the ground by grabbing his throat and lifting.

"And you got the fucking guts to come back here."

"Doggy…" Riku gasped, grabbing hold of Dogan's wrists. "Doggy… down boy… be good."

Dogan threw him back on the ground.

"Get up." He demanded.

Riku got up off the dirt slowly, messaging his throat.

"Listen Doggy, calm down." He coughed, seeing Dogan rearing back his fist again. "Everything's all right now." He took a deep breath.

"Bull shit."

"Listen, I'm sorry about what I did to your sister, but…"

"You did my sister a favor." Dogan interrupted, relaxing his hand and putting it at his side.

"I did?" Riku asked in confusion.

"She at least got to die with her heart and knowing that I still loved her. What you did to Sashi was just down right low. Making her feel things for you and then just ripping out her heart-"

"But everything's okay now." Riku repeated.

"How?"

Dogan then examined Riku fully. His boots were untied; his belt was not buckled; he was holding his shirt and his vest was open.

"Oh. You already found Sashi." He nodded, becoming embarrassed a bit.

Riku nodded back in conformation.

"And I see you found Becky last night with no trouble."

Dogan's eyes widened. "How'd you know?" he whispered.

Riku held up one finger, "One: I'm not stupid, and two," he held up another finger, "that's Becky's cloak you're wearing."

Dogan turned red.

"She took my shirt and ran off."

All of a sudden, Sora came running over the hill toward the two.

"Dogan, I can't find her." He then realized that Riku was standing next to him. "Riku, what are you doing back?" His eyes caught Riku's wardrobe and he nodded. "Oh…"

"Find who?" Riku asked.

"Becky." Dogan answered shamefully. "I lost her again."

"How did you lose her Doggy?"

"I didn't do it on purpose. She go up before I did."

"Sashi's gonna kill you." Riku laughed sinisterly. "How long have you been looking?"

"About an hour." Dogan said, knowing how much trouble he'd be in once Sashi woke up.

"An hour?" Riku sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I'll get Sashi. Doggy… you… just start running."

Riku turned away from the two and walked back to the tent where he had left Sashi. Walking in, he picked up her pants and threw them at her head. She woke with a start.

"Come on, get up." He said in a firm tone.

Sashi took her pants off her dace and moved a bit under the blanket.

"Good morning to you too. What's the rush?" she asked, stretching out. "Where'd the blanket come from? And the tent?"

"Becky's missing. Magic." Riku answered.

Sashi snapped up and held the blanket against her body.

"What? I thought she was with Dogan."

"He lost her." Riku lifted her boots off the ground and threw them to her.

"I'm gonna kill him." Sashi slipped her pants on under the blanket. She stood up quickly, still holding the blanket against her body. She began searching around for her shirt.

Riku stopped moving about and watched her. He walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist. Forgetting everything that was going on at the moment, Riku began to run kisses along her neck.

"Not now." Sashi turned her head and kissed him.

He smiled at her and lifted his arm up. Sashi's shirt dangled from his fingers.

"Funny." She grabbed her shirt in annoyance.

Riku laughed and exited the tent. Approaching Dogan again, tossed his tee-shirt to him and closed his vest. Dogan took off Becky's cloak and pulled Riku's shirt on over his head.

"You lost her!"

Dogan flinched as he heard Sashi's voice.

"How did you lose her?" he demanded, storming out of the tent over to them.

"She ran off." Dogan squeaked. "And she took my shirt."

"I don't care about your shirt! I wanna know where Becky is!"

Dogan remained silence, bowing his head in shame. Sashi turned in frustration and began to walk away. Sashi came to a slow stop as if she was realizing something. All of a sudden, she turned back around to face Dogan. She walked over to him and picked up the cloak he had thrown on the ground.

"This is Becky's cloak."

Dogan nodded. "Yes…"

"And she has on your shirt?"

"…Yes…"

Sashi let go of the cloak and started to walk again. Dogan backed away.

"It wasn't my fault Sashi." He announced, finally figuring out what Sashi now knew.

Sashi continued to walk forward.

"She came onto me…"

Silence.

"She made me do it. Please don't kill me!"

All fell silent. The ground shook once.

"What was that?" Sora whispered.

The ground shook again.

"This can't be good." Sashi said, looking around.

A gust of wind swept across Neverland. As it touched Sashi's skin, a wave of pain took over her. She grabbed the sides of her head and fragments of a vision passed across her eyes.

_Becky stood in front of her, a knife held to her throat._

_"Sashi!"_

"Becky!"

"Sashi!" Riku grabbed Sashi's hands. "What's the matter? What so you see?"

The ground beneath them turned black. Slowly, the four teenagers began to sink into the blackness. They fell. Then floated. Into nothing and forever.

_The doors will close._

AN: You know what, it's 1:38 in the morning and I don't feel like writing an author's note. Keep reading.


	18. The Great Battle of Our Time

_**Chapter 18: The Great Battle of Our Time**  
Disclaimer! Disclaimer! All characters that are mine are mine and the rest are not. They belong to Disney and SquareSoft._

Sashi felt something poke her stomach. She groaned a bit, but the poking continued. She slowly opened her eyes.

"Whoa!" Sashi sat up quickly and went to grab the Lockblades as her eyes fell upon a Shadow.

_"No, no miss. Do not reach for the sacred weapons. I have no intent of stealing your heart. No, not I. I would dare not touch the more purest and sacred of hearts."_ The Heartless squeaked.

"What?" Sashi managed to say, confused and amazed at the same time.

_"I am sorry mistress. I do not understand that language."_

"Huh?" Then it occurred to Sashi. She had to speak in the Heartless language. "Oh… right. Um…_wha?"_

_"I am here to warn you."_

_"Where am I?"_ she asked, becoming aware of her surroundings. Riku, Dogan, and Sora lay a few feet away from her.

_"At the gates of Kingdom Hearts._

Sashi peered behind her to find two huge wooden doors.

"Ah, I see… _wait, what do you mean you're here to warn me?"_

It was getting easier for Sashi to switch back and forth between languages nowadays. It was more a subconscious switch, but a switch nonetheless.

_"Yes, mistress. My master would be very cross with me if he discovered that I was here, but I must warn you."_

_"Who's your master?"_

_"Master Ansem."_

Sashi shook her head and laughed in confusion. _"Come again?"_

_"I am the first Heartless he ever created. My name is Chechnori."_

"Great, I'm having a conversation with Ansem's pet Heartless."

_"Mistress Protector, you must not face my master. You must not enter the Kingdom. Only tragedy will come of it if you do._"

_"I have no intentions of facing Ansem. Or of going inside,"_ Sashi gulped, staring at the doors, "_there._"

_"Leave. Leave now Mistress Protector, before you find out what my master has taken. If you do, you'll be doomed to face Master Ansem and enter the Kingdom. Leave quickly."_ Chechnori begged.

Sashi looked down at the small Heartless. She did not get it. What was he playing at?

_"What are you talking about?"_

_"Leave. Please. Take the Keyblade master, Master Riku, and the wizard, and go."_

_"What has Ansem taken? What does it have to do with me?"_ she asked, becoming more taken by what the Heartless was saying.

The doors began to glow. A noise came from inside. Sashi got up from the ground and gazed at the doors.

_"No Mistress Protector! You mustn't."_

Sashi began to walk toward the doors.

_"I warned you Mistress Protector. I am sorry I could not stop what is to happen."_ With that, Chechnori disappeared.

Sashi's heart leapt in her chest. She shook in fear for reasons she could not understand. And yet she continued to walk.

"Sashi, don't go in there." Riku said, getting up from the ground and rubbing his stomach.

Sashi had reached the doors. She laid a hand on one and peered in.

"Sashi, come away from there." Sora commanded, rising as well.

"Sashi, things ain't that bad. Don't do it! We love you!" Dogan yelled, holding the back of his head as he too rose from the ground.

Sashi saw something move in the darkness. She squinted to try and focus the image.

"Ansem…" she whispered as the picture became clear.

But that was not all that the young woman saw. Just like it had been in her vision, Becky shivered in terror in front of Ansem. He held a knife to her throat and chuckled.

"Becky!"

Sashi rushed inside the door with only Becky's safety on her mind. She ran faster than she had ever before. The cold air hurt her lungs as she breathed deeply.

So close… but not close enough.

Ansem laughed harder and lifted the knife above Becky's quivering body. With an obsessed glare in his eyes, the dark man thrust the knife into Becky's chest, penetrating her heart.

Sashi, barely ten feet from her friend, stopped in mid-dash. They young woman stood there, staring at her friend in bewilderment. She then lifted her eyes to Ansem. She watched as he smiled at her in that way that sends a chill up a person's spine and brings fear to the heart.

Becky gasped for air, feeling the knife twist and turn inside her body. She felt her knees give out under her, but Ansem held her weight.

Sashi could feel the vomit begin to stir in the pit of her stomach.

"You should have kept a closer eye on her." Ansem said sinisterly, pulling the knife out sharply.

A glowing red light seemed to follow the knife as it left Becky's body. He laughed as the red light took the form of Becky's heart: a Protector's heart.

"Die now Protector." He whispered in her ear.

Becky hung her head down in front of her and exhaled her last breath, letting go of all the pain. Ansem released the young woman's body and let it fall to the rocky ground. His laugh lingered in the cold air even after he disappeared into the darkness.

Sashi slowly walked a mere ten feet over to her friend's body. She shook uncontrollably. Kneeling down, she felt the vomit rise from her stomach to her throat. The three boys had finally entered the Kingdom and ran full force toward Sashi and Becky. Sora and Riku stood a few feet behind, gazing down at the two Protector's with tearful eyes.

Dogan, however, kept running until he stood beside Sashi. Though she could not hear much because of the shock, she vaguely heard the stuttering and yelps of pain coming from the grey-eyed boy that stood beside her. He fell to his knees, holding his hands over Becky's body. All he wanted to do was take her up in his arms and hold her tight, but he just could not stomach it. Sora came up from behind and put his arms around Dogan.

"Come on Dogan." He stammered, trying to pry the young man away from the body.

Sora managed to get Dogan back and remained on the ground with him, cradling him as he screamed and cried. Riku crouched down next to them and placed his hands on Dogan's shoulders.

Impulsively, Sashi placed her hands on Becky and began to shake her.

"Wake up." She whispered, quite calm for the present situation. "Wake up."

Becky did not wake.

"Wake up." She repeated, sounding as though she was becoming annoyed and angered.

She continued to shake her friend harder and harder.

"Wake up. Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

The young woman had finally reached screaming as the idea sank in at last. Dead; Becky was dead. She pulled her hands away and curled her fingers into fists. Rage pulsing through her as if it was within her very blood, Sashi punched Becky's limp shoulder.

"Wake up!" she screamed, punching Becky's body again and again.

Riku rushed over and grabbed Sashi, preventing her from striking the body anymore. He dragged her away as she yelled and screamed, kicking and punching the air.

"Sashi, stop. Stop." Riku said, holding Sashi back the best he could.

Continuing to kick and punch, Sashi screamed something into the darkness of Kingdom Hearts that seemed to come out of nowhere. She did not know why she was saying it, she just felt as though she should.

"Poroo leketaa duvel warso elset akinavet! Poroo leketaa duvel warso elset akinavet!"

It had worked for her, maybe it would work for Becky as well.

Becky lay still, her skin beginning to turn a ghastly white color.

"Becky, wake up!"

Without much notice, the asterx necklace that dangled around Sashi's neck began to glow. The light became brighter and brighter, causing Sashi to relax in Riku's arms. All eyes turned to Sashi's necklace. In an instant, the necklace ripped off her body and levitated above Becky's, spinning and glowing brighter.

Sashi's mouth dropped and the boys watched in awe. The light from the charm began to form a shape above the body.

"No fucking way…" Sashi whimpered through the tears as she watched the shape become clearer.

The light lowered and embedded itself in the hole that resided in Becky's chest. The hole sealed, trapping the light inside the body. Sashi's necklace disappeared, and quickly reappeared on her neck once again. It no longer gave off the pale white light it had before as it lay on her chest.

"What did you wish for?"

Sashi heard Riku's voice behind her and she pulled away from him. Crawling back over to her friend's body, the tears seemed to stop flowing and were replaced by the oddest curiosity. Dogan ceased his crying and wailing as well, and lifted his head off Sora's chest. Terrified, Sashi placed her hand above Becky's mouth. After a moment or two, Sashi felt air move on her palm. She jumped back and watched the red-headed girl take a deep breath. Her skin was no longer that horrifying white color. Quickly, Becky rolled over and began coughing into ground. Sashi sat in terrified amazement as Becky sat up and looked at her.

"Hey stranger." Becky whispered, clenching her chest.

Sashi crawled back over to Becky and touched her cheek.

"You're… you're real."

"Well I was the last time I checked." Becky smiled.

"Sashi!" Riku shouted.

Sashi turned her head and saw Heartless springing up out of the ground on all sides. She and Becky helped each other to their feet and reached for their weapons.

"If we live through this, remind me that I owe you a very large slap on the back of the head." Sashi said, staring around at the countless Heartless coming from the ground.

"Sure." She replied.

Becky felt someone grab her arm. She turned to see Dogan, his crossbow out and ready.

"I swear, if you ever do anything like that again, you won't have to wait to be killed by evil, I will do it myself. Do you understand me?" He threatened.

Becky nodded. He quickly pulled her in and placed a kiss on her lips. As soon as he let go, the young man rushed at the Heartless and started firing bolt after bolt.

Sashi dashed off after him, slicing through the Heartless like butter.

"Becky, welcome back." Riku said, switching his attention from her to Sashi. "That girl is gonna be the death of me."

"Oh I'm gonna be glad when this is over. And this so better be over after this 'cause I'm getting kinda tired of this whole vanquish evil, save the worlds thing. I've done it once already and I'd rather not make a habit of it, so this better be the last time." Sora said, adding a laugh after he was done.

The two boys unsheathed their blades and charged the Heartless.

"Well, now that that's over…"

Becky did not bother finishing her sentence, but instead followed the boys and began killing off Heartless.

"You know, you two are really getting on my nerves now."

Sashi and Becky turned and gazed up a long flight of stone steps. At the top, Maleficent and Ansem stood there, Ansem a bit farther back than Maleficent.

"You mean to tell me that Maleficent is the main bad guy!" Becky yelled in annoyance.

"Damn Ansem, you've lost your edge. Becoming second-in-command to a lady with green skin? That's pathetic." Sashi added in.

They began to laugh, but their laughter soon turned into pain. Sashi doubled over, letting out yelps of pain. Becky closed her eyes and placed her free hand on her forehead, letting out quick yelps of pain as well.

"Now, I send Ansem out to kill you in you're dreams, and he brings you here."

"Ow…" Sashi breathed.

"I send Riku out to bring me the weapons and he doesn't do that. Then I told him to bring you two here, and you give him his heart back and he falls in love you." Maleficent pointed to Sashi.

"Ouch…" Becky squeezed her eyes tighter.

"I send Akida out to get rid of you once and for all, and you kill her. What am I going to do with you two?"

The pain was coming close to being unbearable.

"Oh come on Sashi! You're a Protector for crying out loud! Fight back!" Riku shouted, slashing through another Heartless.

"Becky…" Sashi cried through her pain.

Becky did not answer. Instead, she stared up at Maleficent with a glare Sashi had never seen before in the young woman's eyes. The ground began to shake.

"Becky… what are you doing?"

"Like he said: we're Protectors."

The pain began to fade and the ground continued to shake beneath them. Maleficent backed away a bit, trying to understand what was happening.

"How are you doing that?" Sashi asked, examining her arms now that the pain had disappeared.

"Remember when we were on Destiny Islands, and we fought? When Merlin had to throw us against a boulder?" she asked, continuing to stare up at Maleficent.

Sashi nodded.

"And do you remember the first time we got our weapons? How we fought without knowing how?"

"I don't understand how that has anything to do with what you're doing now."

"That's what you have to do. Let go."

"The last time we let go we nearly killed each other." Sashi argued.

Becky turned to her friend and smiled.

"But now we know how to control it. It doesn't have to control us any longer. We can do it."

The ground stopped shaking. The two young women simply looked at each other for a moment before moving.

"What is this magic!?" Maleficent yelled from atop the stairs.

"You kind of magic." Becky answered, looking back up at the woman. "But our way."

"How dare you use my own magic against me! Who do you brats think you are!?"

Before Maleficent could utter another word of anger, a small dagger came whizzing passed her, slicing her cheek a bit. She recognized the dagger. It was the one Akida had always kept in her boot. She looked down at the two girls in horror, half expecting to see the form of the dead girl.

Sashi smiled, pleased with her aim.

"Kaydonah faida destay. Get used to it bitch."

With that, Sashi and Becky turned around and faced the Heartless. They wasted no time, charging into battle and cutting down any and all Heartless in their way. Riku, Sora, and Dogan continued picking off Heartless after Heartless.

Spells flew from the girls' hands. Maleficent watched in confused terror as the five teenagers destroyed her army of dark creatures. Her terror soon melted away into pure rage.

"Enough!" she yelled.

The sky cracked. Maleficent turned to Ansem, who slouched in the throne behind her quietly.

"And what exactly are you doing?" she questioned, furious with the man.

Ansem smiled coyly. "Awaiting your order, milady." He bowed is head in mockery.

"I've had enough of playing with these girls. Do it now." Maleficent commanded.

"As you wish, milady." Ansem answered, standing up. "Chechnori."

From the ground beside Ansem, Chechnori rose. He stared up at his master.

_"Release them."_

Chechnori nodded and disappeared into the ground again.

Maleficent's smile returned. She turned back to face the bottom of the stairs. Sashi and Becky fought as they never had before. The Heartless kept rising from the ground, but their numbers were dwindling.

Chechnori reappeared next to Ansem.

_"It is done Master Ansem."_

Sashi pierced through a Shadow and Becky leapt over another, slashing off its head. Two oddly shaded Shadows the size of full grown men rose from the ground. One rose behind Sashi and the other next to Becky. In what should be their hands, the two Shadows held long daggers. And not just any daggers; Teronothanea daggers. The girls did not even have time to look at the strange Heartless before they took the daggers and pierced the girls' hearts.

Dogan turned to see what was happening and his stomach dropped.

"Becky! Sashi!"

With hearing their names, Riku turned his attention from the Heartless in front of him and looked for the two young women.

"NO!"

Sora tried to run to assist them, but the Heartless would not allow him to pass.

Becky jolted and doubled over. Sashi stumbled forward, nearly dropping her Lockblades. The Heartless recoiled, taking the daggers with them. The daggers glowed bright red. The girls hung their heads, and swayed back and forth a bit.

Ansem called for the two Heartless. They sank into the rocky ground and reemerged next to the man. Ansem took the daggers from the Heartless and dismissed them. Maleficent's laugh returned as Ansem handed her the daggers.

"Now, let the fun begin." She mused, snapping her fingers.

The daggers began to float in midair and became surrounded by a dark purple sphere of light.

Try as they could, the three boys could not reach neither Sashi nor Becky. The two girls stood, still swaying back and forth with their heads hung low.

"Now girls," Maleficent said, beginning to descend the stairs, "stand up straight."

To the boys' surprise, Sashi and Becky did as they were commanded. Their faces had been wiped clean of any and all emotion. Their eyes were shut tight.

"That's what the daggers were for." Dogan said aloud, his mouth dropping and his eyes widening.

"What?" Sora asked, turning around to face him.

Riku rushed to their sides.

"The daggers… they weren't meant to make sure that the body and heart could never rejoin. That was just an added bonus."

"What were they meant to do then?" Riku asked, becoming scared.

Dogan looked at the girls.

"The daggers were meant to trap the hearts of the Protectors of the Kingdoms. He knew. He knew all those years ago that they'd come. He created the daggers to trap their hearts."

"And with their hearts," Sora started.

"They can make the Protectors do anything they bid them do." Riku finished.

Maleficent descended the last step with Ansem directly behind her.

"Protectors…"

The girls' eyes sprung open. Their once pale blue and bright green eyes had become a blood red color.

"Kill the Keyblade master and his two annoying friends."

Sashi and Becky turned to face the three boys.

"We are screwed." Sora said, backing away.

Becky waved her free hand out into the air, sending Dogan soaring back through the doors. He crashed down hard to the ground and lay there, unable to move.

"Oh we are so screwed!" Sora shouted.

"Sashi, Becky, stop this now. Snap out of it. It's us. You can't kill us!" Riku said, panicking just a bit.

Although Maleficent would have preferred it done the other way around, Sashi charged at Sora and Becky at Riku. Not being as skilled as a real Keyblade master should be, Riku was almost happy that he did not have to fight Sashi, seeing how she was a duel wielder. And although he was a well-trained Keyblade master, Sora had a hard enough time keeping up with Sashi. Becky was better than Riku had expected, already slicing three gashes in his vest.

Outside the doors, Dogan began to move.

"This is more amusing than I had expected." Maleficent commented, laughing to herself. "What else can I make them do with these daggers of yours?"

"Anything you wish." Ansem answered.

"This is much more amusing that I had expected. Who's going to come to your rescue now Protectors?"

Although it was meant to be a rhetorical question, Maleficent received an answer.

"I am."

All of a sudden, Maleficent was tackled from behind. Due to her loss of concentration, the spheres disappeared and the daggers dropped to the ground. Sashi and Becky stopped fighting, becoming stiff and hanging their heads again.

"What happened to them?" Sora asked, approaching Sashi with caution.

"I don't know, but it probably has to do something with why Maleficent is on the ground." Riku answered.

Maleficent came to her feet with the assistance of Ansem.

"What was that?" she spewed.

"You were tackled milady." Ansem answered.

"I know that you imbecile! Who did it!?"

"You always told me to never reveal my identity. Keep to the shadows, you said."

Maleficent spun around, searching for the owner of the voice.

"You know milady… that sounded an awful lot like…"

"That's impossible."

"No, not really. Just not really likely."

From the darkness, a figure walked toward Maleficent.

"But they killed you."

Akida smiled. "I guess they didn't kill me enough."

Riku's mouth dropped.

"But I killed her." He said, stunned to see the young woman.

"How did you- how are you here? How are you alive?" Maleficent stuttered.

"Well, technically, I'm not really alive. You see, what they killed was my shell. My heart has been here in Kingdom Hearts for the last eight years. Waiting for the chance to kill you. And now that I have no shell holding me back-"

"You can do nothing. You may be able to knock me down, but to kill me you need a shell. And as you just said, your shell is dead." Maleficent said, thinking she had outsmarted the young woman.

"You're right. I can't kill you without my shell. That's why I'm going to get them," she pointed to Sashi and Becky, "to give it back to me."

"Ha! They do as _I_ command!" the woman yelled in frustration.

Without notice, Chechnori rose from the ground.

"Galenthreea."

And with that word, the daggers vanished.

Akida smiled.

"Not anymore."

Ansem turned to Chechnori, furious with the Heartless. From his hand rose a ball of flame.

"_You retched little traitor."_

He quickly tossed the ball at Chechnori, but it did not reach the tiny Heartless. The ball stopped midway and burst into nonexistence. Ansem quickly looked back up. Sashi stood smiling at him, her arms crossed. Becky had her hand outstretched toward him.

"That wouldn't be very nice." Becky said, joining Sashi with a smile.

Maleficent stepped up.

"Kill her!" she demanded, pointing at Akida.

The girls did not move.

"I command you to kill her!"

Sashi's eyes had returned to their original bright green and Becky's to her blue.

"Dude, we're the frickin' Protectors." Sashi pointed out, shifting her weight from both legs to one.

"You honestly didn't think that we had a back up plan." Becky laughed.

"But you didn't know she was alive. And how could you have known that Chechnori knew how to reverse the effects of the daggers?"

"Call it a sixth sense." Sashi answered.

"Actually, now I think we're up to our, like, ninth or tenth sense." Becky added in.

Ansem approached Maleficent's side.

"You brought Akida back."

"Subconsciously of course." Sashi nodded.

"And you knew, subconsciously, that she knew who would be able to reverse the daggers' effects."

"Bingo!" Becky shouted.

Silently, Sora raised his arms in victory. Riku stuck him tongue out at the two adults.

Ansem laughed silently. "You truly are the Protectors of the Kingdoms."

Maleficent could do nothing but stand in shock. All her plans, all her work, gone. Done for nothing.

"Baby, be a darling and go defeat the army of Heartless." Sashi said, her smirk growing as she stared at Ansem and Maleficent.

Riku came up behind her and kissed her behind her ear.

"As you wish." He answered.

"Sora, go help him, will you please?" Becky asked, outstretching her hand to the Keyblade master.

Sora took her hand and placed a small kiss on it.

"Whatever my Protector commands."

Riku and Sora rushed off to face the Heartless, but not before smiling one last time at Maleficent and Ansem.

Sashi placed the Lockblades on her shoulders.

"I have to go heal Dogan." Becky said, coming close to her friend. "Can you handle this yourself?"

"I've got it covered." She answered. "But before you go, we have one little thing to take care of."

They two looked over at Akida and began reciting together.

"Camees eem... Hawid peskin sheshnor galnet. Helle lowdona kemat cannia… Het teaell zon. Tryconnell theamore noso… Soent glengarrif. Camees eem… Skilem."

A light formed around Akida's heart. Within moments, the light disappeared and Akida's shell was returned to her.

Becky turned to go, but only took a few steps before turning back to Sashi.

"Hey, be safe."

Sashi pointed at her friend and smiled. Becky nodded and ran off toward the doors.

Akida joined Sashi at her side. Akida flicked her wrist and her axe appeared.

"Which one do you want?" Sashi asked.

Akida thought for a moment. "I'll take the green one."

"That leaves the blonde for me." Sashi announced gleefully.

"After you." Akida said.

"No, no, after you." Sashi insisted.

The two looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and ran toward their respective enemy.

Akida swung her axe at Maleficent, missing by inches.

Sashi placed the Lockblades back in their sheaths and thrust her hands out at Ansem, sending him flying back into the stone steps. She dove onto the man and curled her fingers tight. Before she had a chance hit him, Ansem did the same as Sashi and sent her soaring back. The young woman quickly stood up to see the man descending the stairs toward her.

"Did you honestly think you were going to defeat me by knocking me down and battering my skull into the stone?" he asked, smiling. "It will take a bit more than that, I can assure you."

Sashi did not answer. Instead, the two began firing spell after spell at each other, occasionally sending the other back to crash into the ground.

----

Becky had finally made it through the doors and hurried over to Dogan's side. He was still lying on the stone ground, moaning a great deal. Becky placed her hand on his chest.

"Curaga." She said.

Dogan stopped moaning. The numerous bruises on his skin disappeared. He slowly lifted his head and opened his eyes.

"What the hell was that for?" he said, lightly punching Becky's shoulder.

"I didn't do it on purpose." She retorted. "My heart _had_ been stolen… _again_."

Dogan stood up and smiled. He helped Becky off her knees and kissed her.

"Come on, they need help in there."

Dogan nodded. He took Becky's hand and began rushing toward the doors. But they could not pass through the opening.

"What's the matter?" Becky asked.

"There's something blocking it."

"…What!?"

Dogan pressed his hand against the space between the doors. There had to be some sort of invisible wall preventing them from reentering.

"_It's not going to let you back in Mistress Protector."_

Becky and Dogan turned at the sound of the voice to find Chechnori.

"_What do you mean it won't let us back in?"_ Becky asked, knowing that this had been the Heartless who had help reverse the daggers' power before.

"What's it saying?" Dogan asked, leaning in toward Becky.

"_Once the great battle of our time starts, none shall pass through the doors until what must happen happens."_

"What's it saying?" Dogan repeated.

"It's not gonna let us back in." she answered. _"What must happen?"_

"_It is not your destiny Mistress. Yours lies elsewhere. It is not meant to take you."_ Chechnori explained.

"Not meant to take me?"

"Who's not taking you? Where?" Dogan asked, not understand the conversation taking place before him at all.

"_You must allow destiny to take its course. You must fight here until it gets what it wants. That is what you're meant for Mistress. You must not try to change it. Do not continue to try to reenter the Dark Kingdom."_

"Fight out here?"

"Who's fighting what out where?"

"_Until it gets what it wants? What do you mean by that? You know what the passage wants?"_

Chechnori did not answer, but rather sank into the ground and left the two alone again. Becky looked in through the doors. Panic swept over her. Dogan began poking her.

"What?" she asked.

"I think we have a problem." He said.

Becky turned and her mouth dropped. There, standing in front of them, was Chernabog.

"I guess that's what it meant by fight out here."

"Sora! Riku! A little help please!!" Dogan screamed, reaching for a bolt.

----

_"The end has begun…"_

AN: Sorry it took so long. It started writing this chapter and I just added all this new stuff in and before I knew it, it was way too long so I had to stop and decided to create a whole new chapter. Keep reading please! I promise that this time I type faster!


	19. The Doors Are Closed

_**Ch. 19: The Doors Are Closed**_

_Some characters I had made up for my fanfic and others belong to Disney  
and SquareSoft._

"It doesn't have to be this way, you know."

Sashi did not fire her next spell, somewhat intrigued by what Ansem had just said.

"What do you mean?"

"It doesn't have to be like this. We can work together. You, Becky, and I can work together to put a stop to all this. All this chaos can end. We can rule the worlds as we see fit. We can defeat them all: Hook, Jafar, Hades… even Maleficent. We can put a stop to all the fighting. We can make sure that the Heartless will never regain their strength. Sashi, we can rule everything as we want it to be. We can bring peace."

Sashi stared at the man.

"We have to power to change it all."

"That's not my destiny."

"How do you know?"

Sashi paused. "Because even though my head is telling me that I could just end it all so easily, my heart is preventing me."

Ansem's calming smile widened to become one that was mischievous.

"You truly think that you can you and your idiotic friends can win?"

"It's what we're meant to do."

"What you're meant to do? What do you know of fate and destiny? When I brought you here, you knew nothing! You did not even know who you were! You believe you have learned so much that you can say such a statement?"

Sashi did not answer his question, but rather changed the subject completely.

"You killed my friend."

Ansem's smile disappeared. "Yes, I did. What exactly do you plan to do about that?"

Sashi charged at Ansem, but he dodged out of the way. She continued to swing her fists out at the man. Forgetting the use of magic for a moment, Ansem swung back. Sashi ducked out of the way and thrust her closed fist onto Ansem's chest. The man jolted back, feeling a cold surge of ice rush through his body.

"That." She said, answering his most recent question.

Sashi pulled the Teronothanea dagger out of Ansem's chest. He jerked forward, following the dagger.

"You shouldn't have kept one on you. It was all too easily to just take it from you when you weren't paying attention." Sashi said, not even bothering to look at the man.

Ansem collapsed to his knees, feeling the poison of the dagger rush through his veins. Sashi bent down beside him.

"You see, you couldn't escape it. Death came for you no matter what." She whispered.

Ansem fell completely forward, lying on his stomach. The black that came from the wound spread quickly over his body until it covered every inch of his skin. He stopped twitching.

"Welcome to complete darkness." Sashi whispered to him.

And with those words, Ansem drew his last breath and died.

_"I told you now to face Master Ansem. I told you not to enter the Kingdom."_

Sashi looked up from Ansem's body. Chechnori stood there, staring at the teenaged girl.

_"I know you did. But it had to happen."_ She answered.

_"You don't understand Mistress Protector. Everything is going as I have seen it."_

_"As you've seen it? What do you mean Chechnori? What have you seen?"_

Sashi stood up.

_"It was how Master Ansem and Mistress Maleficent knew where you were all the time."_

_"How? How did they know?"_

_"Mistress Maleficent had Master Ansem steal a magic mirror for her that would show her many things. Using this mirror, she was able to see where you were going. She was able to tap into your visions of the future. And this is how I have seen what is to come."_

_"You used to mirror Chechnori?"_

_"Without the knowledge of my master. I saw what your future holds. The mirror allowed me to see a vision that neither you nor Mistress Becky could."_

_"You know how this ends, don't you?"_

_"I warned you Mistress Protector. You should've closed the doors and gone home. The passage would have had what it wanted."_

_"You know what the passage wants? Tell me. What does it want Chechnori!?"_

Chechnori did not answer.

_"Answer me! What does it want!?"_

_"A magic that cannot be solved. Something…"_

_"I know this already! Something needs to be lost. Something needs to be left behind. Left for the darkness… to consume…"_

Sashi stopped. How could she have missed it all that time? It was right there and she mad missed it.

"I know what it wants." She whispered. _"Who?"_

_"I cannot say Mistress."_

_"Chechnori… tell me who."_

_"Luck be with you Mistress Protector."_

Without another word, Chechnori sank into the ground.

_"Chechnori! Tell me who it takes!"_

No answer came. Sashi quickly turned her attention elsewhere.

"Becky…" she whispered, directing her eyes to the doors. "Becky! Becky!"

The young woman began to run toward the door, but was stopped almost instantly. Maleficent tightened her grip around Sashi's throat. She lifted the girl up off the ground, causing her to kick in the air. Sashi saw Akida lying on the ground, trying to get back up. Maleficent bore many open gashes and bruises on her green skin.

"I have had enough of you."

Maleficent quickly released the young woman and screamed in pain. When Sashi hit the ground, she saw a bolt sticking through Maleficent's arm.

"Who's the weak one now bitch!?" Dogan yelled from outside the doors.

Akida stood up, wiping off the blood that trickled from the side of her mouth. She stepped closer to the woman who writhed in pain in front of her. She put her hand around Maleficent's throat and made her look at her.

"This is for my brother."

Akida curled her fingers and hit Maleficent square in the face. The witch fell to the ground.

"This is for Riku."

Akida reared her leg back and kicked Maleficent's stomach. Blood began to spew from the woman's mouth.

"This is for the old man."

This time, Akida kicked Maleficent's face. She bent down and picked the witch up. Maleficent stood still, coughing up more blood. Akida picked up her axe and walked over to Maleficent.

"And this," Akida raised her axe into the air, "this is for me."

The blade of the axe entered Maleficent's stomach and she doubled-over. Blood poured from her stomach and mouth in great amounts. Akida drove the axe further into the woman's flesh. She yanked out the blade and let Maleficent fall to the ground. She placed her bloody axe on her shoulder and spat on Maleficent's dead body.

A loud piercing scream came from the other side of the doors. The ground shock as Chernabog collapsed. He let loose another great roar and disappeared into the darkness.

"Have no fear! Sora is here!" Sora yelled as he ran through the doors.

Riku followed.

"Just a tab bit late sweetie." Becky said, wiping her forehead.

Sora looked around and found no Chernabog.

"Oh… sorry…" he squeaked.

"Come, Sashi and Akida are still in there." Riku said, turning toward the doors.

"You can't get back in." Becky said.

"What?"

"There's something blocking the space. You can't get back in." she explained.

Sora walked up to the doors and attempted to walk through. He was immediately pushed back. Sheathing his Keyblade, he rammed his shoulder into the space, but he was still pushed back.

"That's not fair." He said in defeat.

"Becky!"

Becky whipped her around.

"Sashi!" she replied.

Sashi stood beside Akida.

_"I know what the passage wants!"_

Becky's eyes widened.

"What!? What does it want!?"

Sashi stopped herself from answering.

"You're not going to tell her, are you?" Akida asked quietly.

"I can't." Sashi responded after a short pause.

"Can you tell me?"

"No. _We need to close the doors!_"

"You trying to be a hero or something?"

Sashi looked over at Akida.

"Or something." She said, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Will you do something for me?"

"Sure."

Sashi reached for the Lockblades.

"Keep the Heartless off until I'm done."

Akida did not understand, but nodded anyway and lifted up her axe.

_"What does it want Sashi!?"_

_"Close the doors Becky!"_

_"What does it want!?"_

_"Becky!"_

_"Sashi!"_

Sashi did not say another thing. There was no use in arguing with Becky. Not now; not when it was all about to end once and for all. She looked over at Akida. The Kingdom would take her and she could be able to go home with Becky. It was selfish, she knew it. But that's how destiny panned out. She was meant to be taken by the Kingdom so the passage would be satisfied. This is how she was to serve her greater purpose.

Then why did she have this sinking feeling in her gut?

Sashi dismissed the feeling and smiled again. Becky backed away from the doors. Sashi knew what she was doing. She wouldn't try anything stupid now; not when they were so close to it all being over.

Sashi looked back over at Akida.

"You ready?"

"Are you?" Akida smiled. "Bitch."

Sashi returned the smile. "Slut."

Becky turned to Sora.

"Come on. You need to do this too." She said.

"He has to do what? What are you doing?" Dogan asked, stepping up toward her.

"We're gonna close the doors." She answered.

"Like, for real this time?"

Riku put his hand on Dogan's shoulder and pulled him back gently.

"Let her do this. She'll be okay."

Sora came up next to Becky.

"What do I do?" he asked.

"Don't think. Just feel."

----

"Bel panan chech kel nor vek."

Sora did not know what he was doing, but he did it anyway. As he had done so many times before, he twirled the Keyblade in his hand and pointed it up toward the doors. From his Keyblade, a line of white light came out and shot toward the opening. The light stopped once it reached the middle of the doors. He watched as the same light show preformed before his eyes as it had for all the other worlds he had locked down.

Then, the Keyblade suddenly disappeared from Sora's hands. He did not flinch at the disappearance of his weapon. The line of light remained. Sora stepped back, closed his eyes, and hung his head in respect for something.

Sashi and Becky kicked the ground and began floating up into the air. When they reached where the light stopped, they stopped as well. Becky held out the Keyhole in front of her.

"Akena vesto gezel tendo." She whispered.

With all her might, she threw the Keyhole toward the opening. The line of light entered the hole that was the handle and went through it. The blade stayed there in midair.

"Belac decoor shehkil ee." Sashi whispered.

She reared her hands behind her, bearing her Lockblades. As Becky had done, Sashi threw her blades toward the opening. They floated about five feet from the doors. The three blades began to glow a golden color. The Lockblades started to spin, slow at first then speeding up.

"Ardo keckalot!" they cried out.

They girls' hands began to glow the same golden color as their weapons.

"Ardo keckalot." Sora whispered, his head still hung and his eyes still closed.

The line of light burst. The light scattered all about. It swept over everything like a great wave.

Suddenly, the girls' screamed.

Riku, Dogan, and Akida looked up to see them falling. They came down on the ground hard.

"Ouch…" Sashi whimpered, rubbing her back as she stood up.

Dogan ran over to help Becky up, who was rubbing the back of her head.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a panic.

Becky nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"That's it? That's the grand ending we've been waiting for?" Riku asked, a bit annoyed.

"Sorry to have disappointed you."

Sora lifted his head quickly, stumbling off balance.

"What happened? What did I miss?" he said, trying to catch his footing.

Akida helped Sashi up.

The doors made a loud creaking sound. Looking over at them, they all saw that the doors began to move toward each other.

"We did it." Becky whispered, smiling in amazement.

"They're closing." Sashi said, but her smile quickly disappeared. "They're closing…"

"Aki! Start running!" Dogan screamed from the other side.

Riku rushed to one of the doors and attempted to hold it back. Dogan grabbed hold of the other side.

Akida and Sashi glanced over at each other and began to run for their lives.

Time seemed to slow down as the girls ran toward the closing doors. Sashi felt that sinking feeling in her stomach again. But she could not change it. She was faster than Akida. She was going to make it; she had to make it; that was her destiny.

And then she heard Merlin's voice in her head.

_Destiny is nothing more that an idea. _

'Crap…' she thought.

Riku watched as Sashi tripped over a small rock and fell to the ground. Passing her a bit, Akida whipped her head back and stopped.

"What are you doing? Run!" Sashi demanded.

Akida went back to running. Sashi lifted herself off the ground and started off again.

The doors kept closing. The space between them got smaller and smaller.

"Go faster!" Becky commanded.

Akida dove through the space and rolled onto the ground, landing on her back. Dogan rushed over to her.

"Aki?" she said, kneeling down beside her.

"I'm okay." She whispered, proceeding to get up.

"Fuck…"

Sashi skidded to a stop just before the doors. The space was too small for her to fit through.

"Come on, don't stop." Riku pleaded.

Sashi reached her hand through the space and took Becky's hand.

"Go home Becky."

She had to snatch her hand back with some force for Becky would not let go. She resisted the urge to scream and stepped back. Riku watched as the space became smaller and smaller.

"I love you too." Sashi said.

The doors closed and the Keyhole placed itself right on the crack. On the inside, the Lockblades entered the wood of the doors and turned, creating a loud cracking noise. The doors of Kingdom Hearts would never open again.

----

_The doors are closed…_

AN: Short, but sweet. Well, maybe not sweet, but short. Only two more chapters to go! Keep reading please!


	20. When Angels Deserve To Die

_**Ch. 20: When Angels Deserve to Die**_

_All old characters belong to Disney and SquareSoft. I wonder where the  
other ones came from then. Oh yeah, they belong to me! (can you tell I'm recycling disclaimers, lol)_

Riku leaned his head against the doors and closed his eyes.

"You son of a bitch…"

Sashi's knees gave out and she fell to the ground. She, too, placed her head against the wooden doors.

Becky stood in paralyzing fright.

Dogan and Akida stood a few feet back. Dogan had his hands on his sister's shoulders, resisting the urge to vomit from shock. Akida stood with her mouth wide open.

Sora slowly crept up to the doors and placed a hand on one, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks.

Becky finally gained control over her body again and walked toward the doors. Standing beside Sora, she placed her hand on the other door.

On the inside, Sashi began to cry loudly and placed the palms of her hands on both doors.

Once again, the girls' hands began to glow gold along with Sora's hand. Each quickly recoiled their hand when they realized the gold light. As soon as their hands left the wood, the gold light shot from their hands into the doors. With that, the doors dissolved into small gold specs.

"Ah!!"

Becky ran through the wall of specs, attempting to catch some of them.

"NO! Come back together!"

Becky collapsed to her hands and knees.

Akida turned to her brother and buried her face into his shoulder. Dogan wrapped his arms around her, continuing to stare at where the doors had once been.

"She knew what it wanted."

All eyes turned to Riku.

"She knew what it wanted."

"How do you know?" Sora sobbed.

Riku gulped back the urge to throw up and pointed to where the doors used to be. Off in the distance was a path with a white light at the end.

Dogan looked over at Becky.

"I guess this means you can go home now." He said softly.

Becky nodded, not conscious of the fact that she did.

"I'm sorry it had to end like this."

They all turned quickly to see an elder woman in deep purple robes standing behind them.

"Morgana…" Dogan's mouth dropped.

_"I'm sorry it had to end like this Mistress."_

Sashi whipped her head around to see Chechnori.

"Chechnori… _I wanna take it back."_

Becky quickly regained consciousness at the sight of the witch. Her fingers curled and she burst into a sprint toward the woman. Riku grabbed her about the waist and held her back.

"Bring her back!"

"I can't Rebecca."

Becky wriggled in Riku's arms.

"Yes you can! You're the great and powerful Morgana! Sorceress of Time and Fate! Change hers! Bring her back!" Becky screamed.

_"You can't take it back Mistress. What is done is done."_ Chechnori answered.

_"There has to be a way! I wanna go back! Tell me how to open the doors again!"_

"It is the way things are supposed to be. She was supposed to be sacrificed so you and Akida may return to your world." Morgana explained, remaining quite calm.

"Akida?" Sora questioned, stepping up to the black haired girl.

"You won't take her away from me." Dogan threatened, stepping in front of Akida.

"She was Maleficent's henchman. She did that evil witch's bidding for years. Now that Maleficent is gone, her companions will be hunted down and done away with so dark powers may never grow again. She will be tracked down till the end of time. They will never stop looking for her. Is that what you want for your sister Dogan?"

Dogan looked down at Akida, who was bearing new tears.

_"The doors can never be opened again Mistress. They are closed for all eternity. You did what you were supposed to do. You saved the worlds. You made the ultimate sacrifice for Mistress Becky and Mistress Akida."_

_"Akida?"_

_"The passage will only allow two to pass through to your world. Mistress Akida will accompany Mistress Becky back to your world. She will be there to take care of the Mistress Protector when… when it happens."_

_"When what happens?"_

"It will be okay children."

"How can you say that?" Riku spat, still holding onto a struggling Becky.

"The pain will fade with the memories."

"Memories?" Sora whispered.

"What do you mean by that?" Becky asked, settling down.

"You can't make us forget!" Sora yelled in anger.

"I won't. It's not in my power to make you forget."

"Then whose power…" Dogan did not finish his sentence.

Riku looked down and Becky, who was still in his arms, then quickly back up at Morgana.

"That's not possible. Why would they make us forget?" he sobbed.

"Because it ended to the way it was suppose to." Morgana answered, still remaining very calm. "You won't forget the general picture, just the specifics."

_"And what exactly classifies as specifics?"_ Sashi asked, becoming quite cross.

Chechnori paused before he answered her question. _"You will remember that you are a Protector, but you will never tell of it. You will remember that there was another Protector, but you will not remember your connection to her. You will not remember the friendships you made along your journey. You will not recall being Master Riku's lover."_

"No! That I would never forget! No matter how much magic they used, I wouldn't forget that I loved… love her!" Riku screamed.

"I don't know what you want me to tell you. There is no way to change was it to be. They did their jobs, and now they must finish it."

Riku released Becky. She walked over to Morgana and merely stared at the witch.

Sashi turned her back to Chechnori.

_"Will I ever remember?"_

_"Only if you and Mistress Becky are reunited by some miracle." Chechnori answered._

"It's extremely unlikely though, seeing how the doors will never reappear."

"There has to be some other way." Becky cried angrily. "With all this magic we have, she should be able to find another way."

Morgana paused. "Like I said, it is extremely unlikely."

"Then we'll wait." Akida squeaked.

"Wait?" the old sorceress questioned, looking over at the young woman.

"Yes. We'll wait right here until she finds a way back to us."

"If you do not take the passage back to your world, it will close and you'll never be able to return." Morgana looked back at Becky.

Becky continued to stare angrily at Morgana.

"Will I remember her at all?" she asked at last.

"As your fellow Protector. She will pass into memory and become legend as will you to those in our worlds."

Becky turned toward the path and gazed down at the light.

"You either accept Sashi's sacrifice and go home, or forget them all and rot in this spot for eternity. Your magic will work its way either way, and you will forget. You'll sit here day after day without any knowledge of why."

_"I want you to go Chechnori."_

_"Mistress Protector?"_

_"Go. Do not return to my sight."_

_Chechnori bowed in confused to the girl's back._

_"I bid you farewell for the final time Mistress Protector. Remember: The closer you come to the light, the bigger your shadow becomes. The Kingdom of Darkness always has a light."_

_"Away with you Chechnori!"_

The small Heartless did as he was commanded, leaving Sashi alone once more. The young woman fell to her knees and hung her head low.

Becky walked over to Sora and placed a small kiss on his forehead.

"No matter what you do, you will always be in my heart." He whispered.

She went back to where Riku stood. She placed her hands on his cheeks as he cried softly. Without saying anything to each other, Riku took Becky in his arms, holding her tightly against his body. He let go and kissed both her hands. Becky nodded and left him. Slowly, she walked over to Dogan and Akida. Dogan released Akida's shoulders and she stepped away.

The two kissed as they had never before.

"I love you." Becky whispered, her eyes closed.

"I will always love you. No matter what magic you use, no matter where you go, I will always love you. I'll find you again, I promise."

Becky could not take another word or she would lose to will to do what she must. Akida came up to her and took her hand. The two young women started off down the path. The three boys watched in anguish.

"You swear there's nothing you can do?" Sora asked, still watching Becky and Akida.

"She's not here anymore." Riku answered. "It's just us."

Riku walked up to where Sora and Dogan stood, placing his hands on one of their shoulders.

"Let's go home." He sobbed.

And as he chanted the words of his traveling spell, Dogan never took his eyes off his sister and the love of his life.

----

Sashi stood up. She quickly turned around and faced the dark kingdom.

"Yeah, I knew I'd regret this." She said, placing her hands in her pockets.

Something felt wrong. She pulled her hands out of her pockets and ran them over her holsters. Gone; the Lockblades were still gone. Panicked, she looked up at where the doors had been. The Lockblades were not there either. They were really gone.

With an upset and somewhat panicked expression upon her face, Sashi went back to examining Kingdom Hearts. She bit her bottom lip and sighed. Allowing the feeling of fear to pass, the young woman pulled her hood on and buttoned up her cloak.

_The Kingdom of Darkness always has a light._

"It gotta find a light in this place?"

The first few steps were the hardest for Sashi. The first few steps meant the death of her old life, what little memory she had of it, and the birth of her new life… in Kingdom Hearts…. with all the Heartless… without her weapons.

"I'm so screwed." She admitted.

Kingdom Hearts was much darker than she had anticipated. It was much colder than she had hoped. She rubbed her arms, trying to warm them. Deep down inside, she knew it did not matter though. She knew that, from now on, she would always be cold.

----

The wind blew fiercely; the snow blinded them; but Becky and Akida pressed on.

"So what did you call this stuff!?" Akida yelled over the wind.

Becky did not answer.

"You gotta answer me at some point!"

She still kept silent.

Akida began to worry about Becky. She had not said a word since they had arrived in the mountains. She had a weird glaze over her eyes as well. Akida had been hunting and watching Becky for the passed seven months and she had never seen her like this before. She seemed broken in way. Something had been taken from her very soul; torn from her. And Akida knew exactly what that something was.

"Even though for most of the time you guys were there I hated her and tried to kill her on several occasions, I miss her too Becky!"

The glaze over one of Becky's eyes released a small tear that turned to ice as soon as it left the young woman's skin.

Becky kept walking. She had been broken. She watched her best friend disappear forever. She watched her sister die. And what did she do? She left; she returned home without trying to get her friend back. Sashi was gone. She was never coming back. That fact had broken a fuse in Becky. It had shut her down. It had dissolved all connections ot the outside world.

Sashi and Becky had never asked for this. They were just kids. The never wanted to live through Heartless battles. All they wanted to do was live through high school. They wanted to go to their prom. They wanted to go to college and travel the world. They wanted families and lives of their own. All those dreams were shattered now. Becky could not do those things without Sashi.

Without Sashi… they seemed curse words to Becky. She had never done anything without Sashi. Now she'd never do anything with her again. She was gone for good. Nothing could bring her back. No amount of wishing, no amount of magic, no amount of hoping would be able to reverse the things that had happened.

Becky knew this. She knew it, but it did not want to accept it. How could she go on knowing her friend was not coming back? How could she live with herself knowing she let her friend disappear into the darkness?

How could she use her own magic to forget her? Even now, recalling Sashi's face was difficult. Was she her blood sister or just a friend who seemed like a sister? How could she do such a thing? How could she forget Sashi? How could she go on with the fact that she erased Sashi from all memory?

She couldn't.

So, she shut down.

----

Sashi dragged her feet along the hard rock ground. She felt more grief with every step. More empty with every move of her aching muscles. More alone with every breath of cold air that pierced her lungs. Still, Sashi never stopped; never rested. She kept moving though nothing was pushing her forward. Nothing except the fact that nothing was pushing her back either.

The terrain of Kingdom Hearts was cruel and harsh. The creatures were even worse. She found it strange that she had not been attacked but anything let.

That was all about to change though.

Sashi kept walking through the silence; until the silence was broken. Suddenly, three Shadows that were as tall as Sashi rose from the ground in front of her. The creatures glared at her with their yellow eyes. On impulse, Sashi grabbed her holsters on the sides of her belt. As her fingers glided over nothing but air, she remembered the Lockblades were gone.

The Shadows took a step forward. Sashi panicked.

"Fire!" she yelled as she thrust her hand forward at the Shadows.

The Shadows extended what should have been their hands and blocked Sashi's spell.

"Deep freeze!"

Again, her spell was blocked.

_"Aww. Poor little Protector can't get her magic to work on the mean Heartless?"_

Sashi looked around and saw a small Shadow sitting on a large rock. When Sashi faced the larger Shadows again, they had gotten closer to her. She jumped back in terror and tripped over a stone. When she hit the ground, her right hand fell on a small, round rock. She picked it up and stared at it for a moment.

Suddenly, a memory from her hazy past ran through her mind.

'When in doubt, pitch it. Pitch it hard and fast Sashi. Hard and fast.'

Sashi stood up with a confused look upon her face, still staring at the rock. She tossed it up in the air and caught it again.

"I wish I knew what I was doing." She whispered.

Sashi looked at the Shadows, then back at the rock. Without knowing she was doing anything, a dark green light surrounded her right shoulder. The light slid down her arm and absorbed into the rock. She looked up at the Shadows once last night time and reared her arm back. She let the feeling of the memory take over and threw the rock at one of the Shadows. The rock passed through the creature's stomach and it disintegrated.

Amazed at what she had just done, Sashi quickly picked up a second rock. The green light appeared and she threw it at another Shadow. The same thing happened.

The third rock did the same to the third Shadow.

_"I seem to be good at this…"_

_"Things aren't always as they seem."_

Sashi whipped her head around. The smaller Shadow was still sitting on the boulder. Keeping eye contact with the small Shadow, Sashi knelt down and picked up another rock. The green light slid down her arm and into the rock. She began to toss it up and catch it, over and over again.

_"Am I supposed to be frightened or something?"_ it said.

"Yeah." She smiled.

The Shadow tilted its head.

_"What did you say?"_

"I said yes."

_"Ha! A Protector and she cannot even speak the dark language!"_

_"Things aren't always as they seem."_ Sashi said in the Heartless language.

_"So, you can speak the dark language."_ The Shadow jumped down off the rock. _"Poor little Protector got herself trapped within the kingdoms, and then locked herself in Kingdom Hearts."_

_"How'd you know I was a Protector?"_

_"All Heartless know when their greatest enemies are near."_

_"Is that so?"_ Sashi's smile returned. _"Well, can they feel when death is upon them?"_

_"Some of the time."_

_"Good. Can you feel it now?"_

Before the Shadow can reply, Sashi threw the rock at it. The small Shadow disappeared, but before the rock hit it. When the rock landed on the ground, the Shadow reappeared. She threw another rock at the creature's head. This time, only the Shadow's head disappeared and then reappeared.

"What the fuck?" she whispered, stepping back. _"What kind of Heartless are you?"_

_"I am Carcan, a pure Heartless created by the hatred of other Heartless. Welcome to Kingdom Hearts little Protector!"_ Carcan bowed.

_"Great…"_ Sashi sighed heavily in anger. _"So, are you going to try to steal my heart or something?"_

_"Oh no little Protector, I cannot steal hearts. I can only turn them."_

Sashi went to reply, but decided not to.

_"You know what, forget it. Go away Carcan."_ She said, beginning to walk away.

Carcan ran after her.

_"Go away!? You must be joking little Protector. This is going to be too much fun."_

_"Why are you calling my little Protector? If you haven't noticed Carcan, I am taller than you."_ She asked, continuing to walk.

_"Compared to what you'll find in the Kingdom of Darkness, you are little."_

Sashi sighed and kept dragging her feet along the rocky ground.

_"Whatever. Don't care."_

_"You'll come to care, little Protector. I promise you, you will come to care."_ The Shadow gave somewhat of a snicker.

_"So, I can't kill you?"_

_"No, you can kill me little Protector. You are, after all, a Protector. You have the power to destroy any Heartless you wish."_

_"All right then."_

Sashi bent down and picked up another rock in pure annoyance.

_"I don't think you want to do that little Protector."_ Carcan taunted.

_"Oh, I really do."_ She responded, fuming.

_"All right, but you'd be killing the only thing that will ever speak to you again. Silence is not a friend, little Protector."_

Sashi glared down at Carcan for a moment. Unfortunately, the Shadow was right. Sashi hated the silence and was sometimes even frightened of it. Carcan was the only thing that would keep the silence at bay. She could talk back and Carcan would be there to listen to her. Carcan would help her keep her sanity, or what was left of it.

Even though the Shadow probably did not mean to, Carcan was keeping Sashi alive.

----

"Becky! I don't care what you say, just say something!" Akida yelled over the wind.

Akida's arm was wrapped around Becky's waist. She held Becky's arm around her neck.

"Come on! Tell me where you live! Say your dad's name! My name! Say the ABC's for all I care!"

Becky kept silent.

"Fuck you Becky." She whispered. "You hear me! Fuck you! Wake up! You can't do this to me Becky! I have no idea where the hell I'm going! Snap out of it!"

Becky kept her eyes forward and trudged through the snow.

Akida and Becky had been traveling along the mountain for who knows how long. They had lost track of time after the first night. When they finally reached the top of the mountain, their eyes fell upon nothing but more ice and snow covered mountains.

"That's not fair!" Akida screamed. "I have I…" she then rethought what she was about to say, "What has she done to deserve this!?"

Akida dropped her head. As she picked her head up, she gasped softly. She squinted for a better view. Her mouth dropped.

"Becky, Becky…" she said, pulling on Becky's shirt.

Becky did not move.

Akida grabbed Becky's chin and lifted it up.

"Look! You see it!?"

Becky's eyes did not move.

"That means there are people there, right!?"

Becky did not answer, which was what Akida had expected. She nodded to herself and let Becky's head drop.

"That means there are people there."

Akida dragged Becky toward the smoke for over an hour. Finally reaching the small house, Akida banged on the wooden door. Her arms were frozen and her face was numb. The cold had finally gotten to her at this point. The wait for the door to open seemed the longest she had ever waited.

The door opened.

"My God…" a burly man gasped at the sight of the two teenaged girls.

"Help…" Akida shivered.

Akida collapsed into the man's arms. Becky fell to the ground.

"Ronnie! Get in here! Quickly!"

----

Akida opened her eyes. She shook her head a bit and sat up. She discovered that she was in a small bed with heavy blankets on her. The warmth felt good. She looked around to see the burly man who opened the door sitting beside her bed. He opened his eyes as soon as he heard her moving and smiled.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"Feeling warmer."

"That's always a good start. What's your name?"

Akida ran her fingers through her braids.

"Akida."

"Akida." He nodded. "I'm Bert. Do you mind if I ask you something?"

Akida rubbed her eyes.

"Sure."

"What were you doing up here?"

"I was lost. Becky and me… Becky? Where's Becky?"

Without letting Bert answer, she leapt from the bed.

"Calm down. She's in the next room. You wanna see her?"

Akida wrapped a blanket around her body and nodded. Bert led her to a door. Bert was a tall man, and appeared strong. He seemed around thirty. He had jet black hair, a beard, and dark brown eyes.

Bert opened the door. Another man sat next to another small bed. In the bed, Becky lay still.

"Becky…"

Akida hurried over to the bed.

"Is she all right?"

"Well, her fever's broken. How 'bout you kid?"

The man put the back of his hand against Akida's forehead.

"I'm fine." She said, recoiling a bit.

"All right." He said, taking his hand back. "I'm Ronnie."

"I'm Akida. That's Becky."

Akida knelt down next to the bed.

Ronnie got up from the bed and went to stand next to Bert.

"Akida?"

"Yeah."

"Where'd you come from? What were you two doing here?"

Akida paused for a moment.

"I don't know. One minute we were… well… we lost a friend and the next thing we knew, we were here."

Well, she was only partially lying.

"You lost a friend? Lost meaning they died?"

"Yeah." Akida's eyes welded up with tears. "Sashi's gone."

"Sashi? And Becky? Bert, this is one of those girls who went missing from New York 'bout a year ago. This is this the younger one."

Akida's eyes widened, shooting up from the bedside.

"Yeah, this is her! Do you know how to get her home?"

"We'll call in and they'll send a helicopter to get you two. They'll take you back to New York." Bert said.

"What about you? You weren't one of the girls. Where'd you come in?" Ronnie asked as Bert left the room.

Again, Akida paused. She could never convince Ronnie that she was from a world that he considered to be a video game. He'd never believe her. He'd call her crazy. So, she lied.

"I don't remember much. All I can really remember is that I meet Sashi and Becky about a month after they disappeared and I've been following them ever since."

"You don't remember your home? Your parents?"

"My parents are dead."

Ronnie fell silent.

Akida sat back down next to the bed where Becky lay.

"Hey Becky," she whispered, "you're going home."

----

Her muscles ached; her boots blistered her feet; her vision was beginning to blur.

_"Poor little Protector, walking for weeks and getting no where."_ Carcan taunted, walking just behind Sashi.

_"Do you ever turn off?"_ she asked, exhausted and frustrated.  
Carcan paused. _"No."_

Sashi stopped and turned back to the small Heartless.

_"Carcan, why don't you go taunt something else for awhile?"_ she said, hoping to get rid of Carcan.

_"Who else is there to taunt, little Protector? The creatures here have no feelings; you do. The creatures have no fears to prey on; no past to forget. You do, and you have little Protector."_

_"Shut up Carcan."_ She threatened, curling her fingers.

_"You have forgotten your past. Everything is gone."_

_"Enough Carcan!"_

_"Poor little Protector can't remember anything she ever loved; can't even remember why she has to live."_

_"I said enough!"_

And without thinking, Sashi thrust her hands at the small Heartless and two bright bolts of lightening shot from her hands. Before Carcan could notice what she had done, the bolts entered the Shadow's body and it disappeared forever.

Sashi recoiled her hands in shock, looking at the spot where Carcan once stood. Resisting the urge to cry, she breathed heavily and turned around.

Silence. Nothing but silence and darkness.

After a moment of nothing, Sashi began to drag her feet along the rocks once more. She had forgotten long before this why she walked, but she kept walking.

----

Her muscles ached; the blisters on her feet had busted opened and were now bleeding; her head pounded and her vision continued to blur.

Her boots were filled with blood. The countless bruises on her body ached. The numerous cuts and gashes on her skin bled. Sweat ran down her face and stung her eyes. To make matters worse, Sashi had come upon that blessed time of the month in a woman's life that each and every woman dreaded. Blood poured down all sides of legs.

She was drenched in sweat and blood. I did not bother her though. The pain did not matter anymore. The pain meant she could still feel; and being able to feel meant that she was still alive. Even though she sometimes deserved death, she was still alive. She was an angel in an unholy land. An angel that did not deserve this kind of torture. Death would be a release. Death would take the pain away. Death would free her from this prison of tears and blood. She deserved to die.

There are times… when angels deserve to die.

The Heartless had been getting larger and larger, but she continued walking. As she reached the top of yet another rock mountain, she felt her knees give out and fell to the ground. Her hands fell onto the rough ground, creating more scratches and opening three old cuts. She hung her head low, breathing heavily.

_"It's so cold…"_ she whispered.

She let her elbows give away and fell to the ground completely, laying on her stomach.

_"Please, let it end…"_

"Sashi?" a quiet, worried voice whispered.

Sashi lifted her head a bit.

_"What?"_

Although she had forgotten much of that the language the boy was speaking, she remembered enough to understand him. It was hazy, but still, that was something.

"Sashi?" the voice grew a bit louder.

"Who…?"

Sashi went to lift her body off the ground, but did not out of fear that she was only imagining things. It would not be the first time she had heard voices in Kingdom Hearts.

"Sashi, it's me! Todd!"

Sashi looked around. No one was there.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"What do you mean? Sashi, don't you know who I am?" Todd's voice lingered in the cold.

Sashi put her head back down.

"Go away kid."

"Sashi! It's Todd!" the young boy repeated.

"I don't know no Todd. Go away kid. I want to be alone." Sashi closed her eyes.

"My name ain't kid! It's Todd! I'm you brother!"

"Go away kid." Sashi's voice got quieter.

"Get up Sashi!"

"Why? There's nothing left." She sobbed softly.

"I don't count?"

"I don't know who you are!" she screamed as more tears fell from her green eyes.

"I'm your brother! Now get up!" he cried out.

"I'm so cold…" she whimpered as a cold shiver ran up her spine.

The young boy's voice took a few deep breaths. Although she knew he was not there, Sashi looked up to consol the boy. After realizing she was only fooling herself, she lay her head back down and closed her eyes.

"Please get up Sashi. I need you to come home. You have to be there to watch me grow up. You have to be there to laugh at me when I do something stupid." He paused for a moment. "You have to be there so I can run into your room in the middle of the night because I had a nightmare about the zombie movie I begged you to let me watch. Get up please."

Sashi lay there for a moment, silence and motionless.

"Sashi?"

She kept still.

"Sashi!" Todd screamed, fearing the worst.

Sashi did not answer nor did she move. Without warning, Sashi moved her hands back and lifted her upper body off the rocky ground. She dug her foot into the ground and pushed herself forward. Struggling for balance, she shook her head to clear her vision a bit.

"Kid?" she said, blinking.

"Yeah…" the boy answered, amazed that Sashi had gotten up.

"I didn't mean to forget you. I'm trying to remember, bit it's just not working. I didn't mean to forget." She gasped as she stumbled around.

"I know…" And with that, Todd's voice faded away in to the darkness that was Kingdom Hearts.

Sashi began to trudge through the silence once more.

----

Akida sat in the hospital room next to the bed. She had not gotten a true night's sleep since they arrived. The doctors had examined her and deemed her healthy save for the fact that she was freezing and half-starved. She had been discharged days ago, and that's when she had started sitting in the chair where she resided now. She just sat there; waiting; waiting for Becky to wake up.

Becky lay in the bed, quiet and still. There were all sorts of wires and tubes coming out of her body. Wires and tubes connecting her body to different machines. Those machines were keeping the small girl alive.

Akida had not left Becky's side since she was discharged. She felt it was her fault for this happening to Becky. Her fault Sashi had not made it through the doors. Her fault Becky needed machines to keep her heart beating. Her fault Becky had gone into the darkness; into the silence; into, what the doctors had called, a comma.

I did not matter what they called it, Becky was lost. Nothing could bring her back from that dark place. Nothing except the one thing that was gone forever. She was never coming back and that meant Becky was not coming back either.

So, Akida waited. Waited for something to happen. Anything.

----

"_Umph…"_ Sashi fell back to the ground.

Getting up, she pressed her hand against the air in front of her. Her hand glided over a wall she could not see.

_"What the fuck…"_ she whispered.

She stepped back and rammed her shoulder into the space in front of her. The impact made a loud thud. She bent over, holding her shoulder in pain. She did it again, and again the same thing happened. On the ninth or tenth attempt to batter down the wall, Sashi fell back on the ground. While lying on her back, Sashi threw a fireball into the wall. The wall seemed to absorb the fire, making it illuminate. The light sped across the wall, which seemed to go on forever until the light was finally too far away to detect. She got to her knees and began pounding her fists against the wall.

_"What the fuck is this shit!? Why a wall!? Why are you doing this to me!? Why am I being punished!? I just wanna go… I wanna go…"_

She stopped, realizing that she had forgotten that long ago, even before she had locked the doors to Kingdom Hearts.

Tears streamed down her face and blood ran down the rest of her body. She sat in the silence for a minute. Suddenly, a memory came to her. And without knowing why, she began to chant.

"Segelath. Benthemor. Rohoo. Mentenaroo. Segelath. Benthemor. Rohoo. Mentenaroo. Segelath. Benthemor. Rohoo. Mentenaroo."

She continued to repeat these words for hours, hanging her head and rocking back and forth on her knees. After what seemed an eternity, Sashi let her body fall to the side. She stopped chanting the words.

_"Why isn't it working?"_ she asked, though she knew she would get no answer.

Why at this point a memory from her forgotten past would come to her can never truly be explained. Her past was so hazy to her now. She could not remember anything. So, why now? Why would she be remembering a song from her past? Of all things, why a song? Either way, it was a part of her past. She was going to die, she knew it. This was her time. She might as well die remembering at least one part of her past than never remembering anything at all.

And so, through the darkness and silence of it all, Sashi began to sing.

"Good luck and charm bracelets

Pots of gold.

Jewels, silver, crystals,

Treasures untold.

Waiting, and waiting for its day to come.

Trumpets and bagpipes

A harp and a drum.

Find it I did sir,

All of the riches,

Hiding inside me…

In hopes… and in…"

_Make a wish Sashi…_

Sashi's eyes closed. Kingdom Hearts would never all them to open again.

And the asterx necklace let off a pale white light.

AN: One more chapter! One more chapter! Hurray! lol


	21. Broken Wings Do Mend

_**Ch. 21: Broken Wings Do Mend**_

_Same old, same old. New characters I made up. The rest belong to SquareSoft and Disney. (I really can't stand these anymore…)_

The faint sound of a dog barking could be heard where she lay. The cool, soft breeze passed over her body. Her eyes fluttered as the barking grew louder. She groaned a bit and heard a small boy's voice.

"Lee! Lee, come here girl! Good dog!"

Lee. That name felt so familiar to her. The dog barked again, and the boy laughed. Once his laugh reached her, she was drowned in a wave of memories.

Lee; her family; meeting Sora; learning magic; traveling to the six worlds; Dogan's past; Riku's heart; her weapons; falling in love; all the near-death experiences; saying goodbye; being betrayed; defeating the bad guys; locking the doors; leaving everything she knew and loved behind.

She lifted her head and saw a German Shepard running toward a small boy with spiky blonde hair. She got to her feet just as the dog and boy disappeared into a house. She walked through the bit of woods she had woken up in toward the house. Not knowing what she was doing, she walked through the backyard and entered the house.

The halls were the same. The colors were the. Even the old, rusty doorknobs were the same. She heard something move inside what she remembered as her parents' room. She went inside the door and her eyes fell upon something that had not been there before: a crib. Inside the crib, there lay a baby in light green feet pajamas.

The young baby cooed at the sight of Sashi. She gazed down at the baby. She could not be more than six or seven months old.

"Hey, who are you?" she asked, picking up the baby.

Sashi went over to her parents' bed and lay down with the baby. The baby girl sat next to Sashi and began to play with her hair. She had never seen this girl before.

"Saha…" the baby cooed.

To Sashi's amazement, that sounded a lot like her name. Along with this amazement, she began to notice that her legs were going numb. As she watched the baby laugh and play, Sashi felt something strange. It was the same feeling she felt when she first heard the Heartless language. She knew who this child was and yet she did not at the same time. She felt as if she had known this child from birth, but that was impossible.

Or maybe it was not impossible. After all, she thought being sucked into a video game was impossible.

"I knew I wish who you were kid."

The baby lied down on Sashi's chest and began to suck her thumb.

"Hey kid, don't think you want to lay down on me. I kinda covered in sweat… and blood." Sashi moved the girl over a bit. "Don't wanna get that stuff all over you."

The girl put her head down on the pillow and looked up at Sashi. She put one of her hands on Sashi's nose, laughing. Sashi smiled, feeling herself getting weaker and weaker. She looked into the small girl's eyes.

"Hey, you have the same eyes as my mother."

The baby put her hand down and closed her eyes, sighing.

"Hey kid…"

The baby's eyes opened.

"I'm going to render unconscious now, okay?" Sashi whispered.

"Saha…"

"Yeah, saha…" she closed her eyes. "Good bye kid."

Sashi's entire body went numb and she fell into a state of unconsciousness. As she did, she wait; waited to wake up form this dream; wake up back in Kingdom Hearts.

----

"Ouch! Damn bed."

Sashi's eyes snapped opened at the sound of the random voice. She looked around and saw white walls. She sat up slowly and realized she was in a hospital. The voice had come from a nurse whose back was to her. A panicked looked formed on the young woman's face.

"Where am I?" she asked, turning white with fear.

The nurse turned around quickly.

"You're awake." She said in awe.

"Where am I? Why are you doing this?" she asked, thinking that this was some sort of game that the kingdom was playing on her; or even worse… thinking that Carcan was back.

As she backed up on the bed, Sashi felt tiny pricks on her arms and fingers. She looked down to find that there were several tubes and wire coming out of her skin.

"Calm down. You're in the hospital."

"The hospital?" Sashi said, still staring down at the tubes and wires.

"Yes. You gave the papers quite a story you know. Two girls disappear in the middle of the night. No ransom; no evidence of a break in; no indication of running away. One girl is found with another girl by two men in an outpost in the mountains a year and three months later. The other girl is found a month later unconscious in her parents' room covered in blood." The nurse explained, handing Sashi a glass of water. "You gave your parents quite a scare."

Finally looking up at the nurse, Sashi squeaked out a, "What?"

"Drink."

Sashi took the cup of water, still in disbelief that all this was happening. She gave the glass back quickly and began wiggling her fingers in front of her face.

"I can feel my fingers." She whispered in amazement.

The last time she could remember feeling her fingers was just after closing the doors. She had been numb for so long, she had almost forgotten what it was to have control over her body.

"Where am I?" she asked again.

"I told you, you're in the hospital sweetie." The nurse said, trying to comfort the panicking child before her.

Sashi's darted around the room and found a window.

"What's out there?" she asked, pointing to the window.

"That's New York sweetie." The nurse answered.

"New York?" Sashi could not believe it. "As in New York, New York?"

"Yes."

"As in New York, New York, the Untied States of America?"

"Yes."

"As in New York, New York, the United States of America, North America?"

The nurse simply nodded.

"As in New York, New York, the United States of America, North America, Earth?"

"I don't see where you're going with this. There's only one New York I know of, and you're in it."

Sashi's mouth dropped, placing her hands behind her head.

"I'm in New York." She whispered, dumbfounded.

"Maybe you should lie back down."

The young woman began laughing. She frantically looked around in excitement.

"Um… take these out." She demanded, thrusting her arms at the nurse.

"I think you should lie down. I'll go get the doctor. You just stay where you are."

The nurse began to leave.

"If you don't take these out, I'll just pull them out." Sashi threatened.

The nurse turned back.

"I will take them out, and then I'm going to go get the doctor." She walked over to Sashi and began removing the tubes and wires. "You are to stay here until the doctor comes."

When the nurse left, Sashi jumped out of the bed and spotted a large plastic bag with her clothes. She lifted her clothes out of the bag and examined them.

"Wow, they got all the blood stains out of them."

Sashi pulled on her clothes and pulled off the gown she was in. She ran toward the door and poked her head out. The nurse was not in sight. She bolted out the door and ran down the hall. Sashi ducked into the first stairwell she found and rushed down the stairs. When she reached the ground floor, she was already out of breath. A security guard noticed her and approached her.

"Can I help you miss?"

"Um…" she gasped, trying to catch her breath. "Waiting room?"

The guard pointed down the hall. "Last room on the right."

Without as much as a thank you, Sashi sprinted down the hallway. She could no believe it. She could feel every part of her body. She felt amazing; better than she had in weeks.

There he stood; a young boy with spiky blonde hair. His back was to her, but she knew it was him. She walked into the waiting room, a weakness returning to her muscles. It was not the same kind of weakness she had known in Kingdom Hearts, but a different one. When she reached the boy, she knelt down. She was so scared; scared this was all a dream; scared that this was not real and that she was just hallucinating; scared she was going to, once again, wake up in Kingdom Hearts.

Or maybe this was heaven…

Before she had time to speak, the boy turned around. Sashi felt as if she was going to burst out in tears. Neither of them said anything, but rather looked into each others eyes. The boy slowly lifted his arm and placed his hand on Sashi's cheek. This was not a dream.

"You're real…" she whimpered, feeling the boy's hand on her cheek.

"I knew it wasn't a dream. I knew you were coming home soon. I knew you'd remember." He said, tears began to roll from his eyes.

Sashi pulled her brother into her arms and held him tight. Todd; her little brother; she finally had him back; she was finally home.

Letting go of him, Sashi cleared her throat.

"Where are they?" she whispered.

Todd pointed to the other side of the room. A man stood talking to a doctor. She would know that man no matter what kind of magic took over her. This man was her father; Brad. What ran through her mind at that moment no one can really tell. She was excited; scared; dumbfounded; nervous; sad; anxious; angry; mystified. She stood up quickly and ran at the man.

"Daddy!" she yelled as she jumped onto the man.

Brad pushed the young woman off, not knowing who it was. He stared at the blonde for a second as the realization of who it was sank it. He pulled her in again and squeezed his daughter tightly. He said nothing. Sashi buried her face in her father's chest. He smelt the same; he felt the same; even his heart beat was the same, though slightly fast at the moment.

Some reached over and placed their hand on the back of Sashi's head. Brad loosened his grasp on her and allowed her to turn around in his arms. As if needed to cry anymore, Melody stood before, carrying a small child in her arms. Brad let go of Sashi and took the baby from his wife's arms.

"You came back." Her mother whispered.

"I promised I would." Sashi said, trying to smile but only tears came.

She wrapped her arms around her mother and finally figured it out. She was not dreaming; she was not hallucinating; she was not dead. This was all read. Todd was real; her father was real; her mother was real. She was home. After so long, she was home.

The baby laughed in Brad's arms. Sashi felt someone tug on her pants. She looked down at Todd.

"Sashi, that's Erin."

Sashi turned her head and looked at the baby.

"Who's Erin?"

"Your baby sister." Her mother answered, crying softy.

Sashi laughed, reaching out to touch the baby's cheek.

"Couldn't find me so you decided to replace me, huh?" she laughed quietly.

Her family laughed along with her.

Behind her father, she noticed two other people she recognized. Andy and Kiki, Becky's parents, stood speaking with another doctor. The doctor shook his head. Then it hit her: Becky was nowhere to be found. Sashi stepped back from her mother and stared at her friend's parents in terror. She saw Luke sitting in a chair next to his parents holding Nick and Ruby each on one knee. Tears streamed down his face.

"No…" Sashi breathed.

Without letting anyone explain anything, Sashi ran out of the waiting room back toward the stairwell. She had no idea where the hell she was going, but it did not matter. For some reason, her legs stopped moving after climbing five flights of stairs. Allowing herself to trust this feeling, she ran into the hall. Sashi passed by at least a dozen rooms before her legs stopped moving again.

Room 5N. Sashi stepped up to the door and felt her heart drop. She threw open the door and rushed in.

Akida sat next to a bed where Becky lay. She looked at Sashi as if it was the first time she had seen the girl. In one rapid movement, she blinked and her head twitched. She opened her eyes it was as if everything was back the way it had been before they has closed the doors; except for the fact that she no longer wished to slay Sashi.

"I didn't mean for it to happen Sashi. I tried to wake her up, but she won't open her eyes. I'm sorry." Akida sobbed at the sight of Sashi, her voice trembling in fear.

Sashi's legs regained movement and she walked over to the bed. Tubes and wires were coming out of her friend's body connecting her to different machines. She stood over her friend and did not notice when the others entered the room. Melody held Erin in one arm and Todd's hand with the other. Andy held Ruby and Luke held Nick. Kiki stood staring at her daughter. Brad walked over to Akida and stroked the young woman's hair as she cried softly. Sashi went to touch her friend, but recoiled her hand quickly.

"Becky?" she whispered.

Memories ran through Becky's mind. Her body began pulsating violently.

"Becky!?"

Becky continued to seizure; her heart rate monitor let off rapid noises.

Luke ran out of the room, screaming for a doctor. Akida lifted her head off Brad's chest.

"Becky!"

Becky's body stopped seizing. The heart rate monitor changed from rapid bleeps to flat line instantly.

"NO!" Sashi screamed, feeling Akida's arms wrap around her and begin to pull her back.

Sashi kicked and wriggled around in Akida's arms. Akida fell to the floor, taking Sashi along with her. Through her screams, Sashi heard something. The horrifying flat line noise on the heart rate monitor had changed again to a steady beeping. She quieted down as she heard Becky gasp loudly for air.

"Becky?" Andy whispered, rushing toward his daughter.

"Dad?" Becky gasped, moving her body about with some difficulty.

"Shit, shit, shit…" Sashi whispered, still on the ground with Akida.

Becky gulped down spit, feeling a large tube in her throat move around. Holding back the vomit sensation the tube caused, Becky screamed out one more word before the doctor's rushed into the room.

"Sashi?"

----

Becky was released from the hospital a week later. When finally confronted with questions about what had happened to them, they simply responded that they did not remember. The doctors diagnosed them with amnesia; Akida as well. Because of this, the detectives did not have much to go off of in their search for who had done this. They concluded that the girls had been kidnapped and obviously tortured for some time. They had also jumped to the conclusion that all three girls had been raped, seeing how they left virgins and were now not. The detectives believed that Akida had been with the kidnappers most of her life, seeing how there was no record of her anywhere and she could not recall anything besides meeting Sashi and Becky.

What were they to do? No one would ever believe the truth. There was no way of making them all see the truth; there was no way of making them all forget.

"Why not make them forget? You did it once before. You erased every memory from the last year and a half, why can't you do it again?" Akida asked one day as the three girls walked around a small outdoor market.

Brad and Andy followed close behind, along with two detectives they had hired to watch over the girls in case the kidnappers were to return.

"We don't even no if we still have magic Akida." Becky answered quietly.

"You guys are the Protectors of the Kingdoms. Why wouldn't you still have magic?"

"Protectors of the Kingdoms in the kingdoms, not in our world." Sashi whispered. "Here, we're just ordinary people. We didn't have magic before we went to the kingdoms, why would we have it now?"

"Girls, you almost ready to go?" Brad shouted from behind.

"We've been here five minutes dad!" Sashi yelled back. "Besides, even if we did still have our magic, we don't know how we did it last time. How would we go about doing it this time?"

"Why don't you use a potion?"

"If I knew what to put in the potion maybe, but we weren't really educated in the whole potion making thing and… wait a minute, who said that?"

Akida had not. Becky had not. The three looked around for the owner of the voice. From one of the stands next to the, an arm reached out to them holding a small vial of blue liquid. The girls stared at the vial for a moment before following the arm up to a face. All three girls gasped in utter amazement.

"Morgana?" Sashi said in shook.

"Sashi? What's the matter?" Brad yelled as he saw his daughter's look of shook.

"Erm… papayas! They're on sale! You stay here, we'll go get some!" she yelled back, ducking behind a stand.

Becky and Akida followed.

"Papayas? You couldn't think of anything better?" Becky said, crossing her arms at her friend.

"Can we talk about this later?" she snapped.

As they became silent, Morgana emerged from behind the stand. The girls merely stared at the sorceress, their mouths gaped open and their eyes wide.

"Morgana, how… how did you get here?" Becky asked.

But before Morgana could explain, Sashi chimed in.

"Don't tell me 'cause I'll just wind up getting mad at you."

"All right then, I won't." Morgana gave a small laugh. "I see you haven't lost any bit of yourself Sasha. Rebecca, Akida, you both look well."

"Does it work?" Sashi asked, taking the vial from Morgana's hand.

"What do you think?" she replied, watching the young woman examine the vial.

"What does it do?" Becky asked, taking the vial from Sashi.

"The one you hold is a memory potion. It has been treated to erase all knowledge of your absence from everyone." Morgana explained.

"When you say everyone, you mean…?"

"Everyone Akida."

"The one I hold? Meaning there's another one you wish to gives us?" Becky asked, amazed at how proper she sounded.

Morgana put her hand out and another vial appeared. This one was filled with a silver liquid.

"And what is this one for?" Becky asked, taking it from the old woman.

"This one is a revelation potion." She said, taking back the two vials.

Sashi looked up at the sorceress, and for some reason, she knew exactly what that meant. Being around Morgana, she was beginning to feel like a Protector again. All her old senses seemed to be creeping back.

"They'll know it all? And they'll understand?" she asked, needing reassurance.

"They will understand." Morgana answered, nodding.

"How? Where?" Becky stammered, ecstatic that this was actually happening at last.

"Whenever you want, where ever you want. You two should be able to figure that out on your own. They are your lives."

"What about the boys?" Akida asked after a long silence on her part.

"What do you mean?"

"The boys? Does the whole Sashi and Becky being back together thing affect them? Do they remember?"

Morgana smiled.

"Why don't you ask them yourself?"

Without time for a response, Becky felt someone bash into her, causing her to drop the bag she was holding. Both she and the person bent down to pick up her things.

"Sorry about that."

"It's fine." Becky replied.

The person handed her a pen that had fallen out of her bag and smiled at her. Becky finally looked up at the person who hand knocked into her. Her stomach dropped.

"Told you I'd find you."

"Dogan?" Akida whispered, looking down at the boy with an odd smile on her lips.

Becky could not speak, but merely stared at the young man. Dogan looked the same, yet different. He looked as though he belonged in New York. He wore long denim shorts with chains hanging off the sides that were attached to his belt. He had on a simply black tee-shirt, which matched the black baseball cap he was wearing backwards.

In mid smile, Sashi felt someone nudge her shoulder as if on purpose. Worried it would be her father, she turned around slowly. She did not recognize him at first. She was so used to seeing him in his normal attire. Now he wore faded jeans with rips in them and a chain dangling from his belt, just as Dogan had, a red sleeveless shirt, and an open black and red vest over it.

"You…" she whispered, sounding angered.

"You can beat me up later." He said, walking over to Dogan. "Come on Doggy."

Dogan stood up.

"See you later."

Riku stuffed his hands in his pockets, smiling. Dogan joined him at his side and the two boys walked off through the market. Still stunned beyond belief, Akida helped Becky to her feet. The three girls watched as Dogan and Riku disappeared into the market.

"Give me those."

Still looking out into the market, Sashi reached over and took back the vials from Morgana.

"How did you get here?" Sashi asked.

"I thought you didn't want me to tell you."

"I changed my mind."

Morgana waited for a moment to see if Sashi would once again change her mind. When not a word came from the young woman, she began her explanation.

"When you reach a certain status of wizard or magician or sorceress, you acquire the power to move between the known and the unknown."

Nothing came from the three for a moment until Becky sounded a comment.

"Merlin could have sent us home at any time, couldn't he have?"

Morgana nodded although the girls still had her backs to her.

"Good luck girls. I hope to see you again soon."

They nodded. Akida was the first the tear her eyes from where the boys had disappeared. She looked back to find that Morgana was gone.

"Where'd she go?" she asked, her eyes darting about in search of the sorceress.

Sashi and Becky turned around to where Morgana had been. They smiled.

"Sashi! Becky! Akida! Time to go!"

Sashi stuffed the vials in her pocket and they obeyed Brad's command.

----

Akida and Sashi poked their heads around the corner.

"Are they all there?" Becky asked, leaning up against the wall.

"Yeah, even the little ones." Akida answered, hiding around the corner once more.

"If we're going to do this, it's now or never." Sashi whispered, coming to stand next to Becky. "Which one first?"

Becky took a deep breath, looking down at the vials in her hands.

"The memory potion first, then the revelation one." She decided.

"Are we sure we want them to know?" Sashi asked, beginning to have second thoughts.

"Sashi, if you do this… no more supervised trips to the bathroom in public places." Akida placed her hands on Sashi's shoulders.

Sashi thought for a moment, took the silver vial from Becky, and nodded.

"Yeah, we want them to know."

The three girls turned the corner and entered the living room of Becky's house.

"Girls, what is this all about?" Kiki asked, bouncing Nick upon her knee.

Sashi began to rub the back of her neck. Akida motioned Becky to step forward. She took a deep breath and stepped up.

"We've decided that it's time that you all know."

"Know what sweetie?" Andy asked, handing Ruby over to Luke.

"What happened to us when we were gone." Sashi finished.

"You remember?" Luke stood up.

"We never forgot."

"Actually, we did for a while, but that's only because Sashi and Becky were separated and they didn't allow us to remember." Akida added in.

"Didn't allow you?" Brad asked.

Becky turned to Sashi.

"Maybe we should just do it instead of trying to explain."

"Yeah, I think that'd be better. All right, throw it."

Andy took a step toward his daughter.

"Throw what?"

From her pocket, Becky pulled out the vial filled with the blue liquid. She wasted no time before throwing the vial down on the wooden floor. The vial shattered, releasing a lily-scented smoke. The room became silent, but it was more of a mute than a silence. The lily-scented smoke swirled into a small cyclone, moving toward the open window. An instant late, the smoke was gone and the pieces of the shattered vial had disappeared. The muted sensation vanished as well.

"What the hell was that?" Melody whispered, loosening her hold on her children, whom she had shielded from the lily-scented smoke.

"Now it's as if it never happened." Sashi answered, gazing at the open window where the smoke had escaped.

"As if what never happened?"

Sashi looked over at her mother.

"We were never gone. It never happened."

"Sashi, what are you talking about?"

Sashi smiled.

"It wasn't a dream mom. You knew all along. You didn't want to know, but you did. Todd too."

"You too Luke. You knew." Becky whispered. "All three of you were able to break through whatever barriers there are between here and there. You were able to reach us. Somewhere inside you, you all knew."

Sashi took the silver vial from her pocket. Before Brad had a chance to stop his daughter, she threw the vial onto the floor and it shattered. This time, they could not place the smell of the smoke. It was odd, unlike anything they had smelled before. The room turned dark and quite. The smoke filled the room, entering every mouth save for Sashi, Becky, and Akida.

"See what I've seen." Becky said.

"Hear what I've heard." Sashi said.

"Feel what I've felt."

"Know what I know."

It was as if they were each taken into a trance. Sashi, Becky, and Akida stood back and watched. Each of the others closed their eyes. Although their eyes were closed, they saw it all; they heard it all; they felt it all.

_"Protectors of the Kingdoms, welcome! Welcome to your destiny!"_

_"The best Moogle Wine in Traverse Town."  
"Dogan's the name. Magic's the game."_

_Becky stood up and took the Keyhole from its box. Sashi did the same with the Lockblades. They only stared at the blades for a few moments. Then, they began to twirl the blades, throw them up in the air and catch them, jab and strike things that were not there. They kept going, faster and faster, until Sashi and Becky turned and began to fight each other. Harder and harder they swung the swords at each other, seeming as though they were trying to kill one another. All of a sudden, they stopped, and put the blades down at their sides. For the next minute, all the two teens did was stare at each other, breathing heavily. Sashi lifted one of the Lockblades up to her eyes to see it._

_"Screw the public!" Sashi protested.  
Sora ran up to the cloaked figure and looked under the hood. "Riku!"_

_"Captain Raging Hormones?"_

_"Segelath. Benthemor. Rohoo. Mentenaroo."_

"_It's our lullaby. Our dad's have been singing it to us since we were babies."_

_"Maleficent! Ansem! I know what I want!"_

_"Alahand nemoray sendel boroo."_

_Akida threw the binoculars into the bushes not caring at all. She began to hyperventilate. She bit her nails uncontrollable. "He's not here. He's not here."_

_A magic that can't be solved. Something needs to be lost._

_Poroo leketaa duvel warso elset akinavet._

_"Sit." Maleficent commanded, pointing down. "Good. Now listen and listen well because I am only going to say this once. I Want Them Alive When They Come Here! Not dead! Not almost alive! Not even scratched! Do you understand? I have plans for them when they arrive."_

_Destiny is nothing more than an idea, but it's when you believe in that idea that it becomes real. Remember that. Never look back. And never forget the reason you are here._

_Sora was drunk! Sashi picked up the bottle next to him, a completely shocked and utterly confused expression on her face. She read the label._

_"Blood is thicker than water but water is more refreshing."_

_Something must be left behind. Left for the darkness to consume._

_"You were a Heartless?" she asked Riku._

_"Everyone knows the story of the two Protectors of the Kingdoms who will someday come and save us all from evil. Of course, the story goes that the Protectors would be two strong and handsome men. And on one of their brave and dangerous rescues, they save two beautiful princesses, fall in love, and live happily ever after. And they weren't called Protectors of the Kingdoms; they were called the Heroes of the Worlds."_

_"Happy sixteen sweets!"_

_"I went and slaughtered whole towns to satisfy Jafar. In return, I got to live. For five years I did this. Day after day. Week after week. Month and month. And I didn't give a shit about anything I was doing."_

"_Dogan, I promise, if you live I will let you date Becky!"_

"_Let the dead bury the dead. You shouldn't have to anymore." _

_The closer you come to the light, the greater your shadow becomes. The Kingdom of Darkness always had a light._

"_Mix and stir the blood of one whose shape I will take when these words are done."_

"_Oh my God," Becky whispered, "Sashi, it's the vision witch."_

"_My name is Morgana, the sorceress of time and fate."_

_Riku turned to leave. Sashi quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Instead of arguing with her, Riku placed a small kiss on her lips._

_The ground shook. The air in the castle hall stirred. Twenty feet in front of them, a gold glitter began to appear. The glitter then started to take a very distinct form. Above the form, a heart appeared. A burst of blinding white light came forth from the form. All turned their heads. When the light disappeared, Sora felt something move pass his leg. He opened his eyes and saw Pluto running toward the king._

"_I love you Kairi and I wanna marry you."_

_It was silver chain with dog tags on them. Engraved on the dog tags was this: If found, please return to Becky._

_Morgana outstretched her hand and a vial filled with blue liquid appeared. She tossed the vial into the cauldron and another burst of smoke rose and flowed onto the floor. The room filled with the smoke and Morgana leaned over the now still cauldron._

"_Home Becky. Where's home?"_

"_What lies behind us and what lies before us are but tiny matters compared to what lies within us." Merlin closed his eyes and drew his last breath._

"_Boss wanted me to keep living."_

"_Promise me always and forever. No matter what happens from this point on, no matter how this battle with good and evil ends, let me have always and forever."_

_The ground beneath them turned black. Slowly, the four teenagers began to sink into the blackness. They fell. Then floated. Into nothing and forever._

_Sashi pierced through a Shadow and Becky leapt over another, slashing off its head. Two oddly shaded Shadows the size of full grown men rose from the ground. One rose behind Sashi and the other next to Becky. In what should be their hands, the two Shadows held long daggers. And not just any daggers; Teronothanea daggers. The girls did not even have time to look at the strange Heartless before they took the daggers and pierced the girls' hearts. _

"_The daggers were meant to trap the hearts of the Protectors of the Kingdoms. He knew. He knew all those years ago that they'd come. He created the daggers to trap their hearts."_

"_You honestly didn't think that we had a back up plan." Becky laughed._

_The end has begun…_

"_Welcome to complete darkness."_

"_Aki! Start running!" Dogan screamed from the other side._

_The doors closed and the Keyhole placed itself right on the crack. On the inside, the Lockblades entered the wood of the doors and turned, creating a loud cracking noise. The doors of Kingdom Hearts would never open again._

"_You will remember that you are a Protector, but you will never tell of it. You will remember that there was another Protector, but you will not remember your connection to her. You will not remember the friendships you made along your journey."_

_How could she use her own magic to forget her? Even now, recalling Sashi's face was difficult. Was she her blood sister or just a friend who seemed like a sister? How could she do such a thing? How could she forget Sashi? How could she go on with the fact that she erased Sashi from all memory? _

_There are times… when angels deserve to die._

"_Please, let it end…"_

"_Hey Becky," she whispered, "you're going home."_

_Make a wish Sashi…_

_Kaydonah faidha destay._

Light returned to the room. Nobody spoke. Sashi, Akida, and Becky worried that it might not have worked. Luke placed Ruby down on the floor where she sat quietly. He walked over to his sister and stared at her for a moment. He then moved on to Sashi, then Akida. It was as if he was sizing them up or something. He paced in front of them, stopping in front of Becky.

"Can you really do that…?"

Luke waved his hands about and wiggled his fingers. Akida titled her head, trying to understand what Luke was indicating by waving his hands around in the air. Sashi smiled.

"Magic." She whispered.

"Not anymore." Becky answered, her eyes filling with tears as she smiled at her brother.

"But you did it right now." Todd said, confused as to why his sister said that she no longer had magic.

"That was actually a potion that Morgana gave us." Akida said, amazed that it had actually worked.

"Morgana the sorceress? Where did you see her?" Melody asked, letting go of Todd's hand and standing up with Erin in her arms.

"At the market." Sashi answered.

Andy looked over at Becky and laughed to himself.

"Papayas?"  
Becky smiled.

"Papayas." She said, nodding.

"And to think that you only wanted to be a photographer." Brad laughed, approaching his daughter and placing his arm around her.

"So you guys really know what happened then? Everything? And you understand?" Akida asked, a hint of doubt still in her mind.

"Everything." Kiki said, standing up.

"Oh, and by the way, thanks for forgetting us." Luke jested, nudging Becky.

"All right, now that we didn't mean to do." Sashi protested.

"Yeah, and besides, we didn't really forget everything until, like, Neverland." Becky added.

"Speaking of Neverland…" Andy started.

"I don't want to talk about it." Both Sashi and Becky said simultaneously, their faces going pale and rigid.

Luke stepped in quickly.

"So, you really can't do magic anymore? What about the whole sword fighting thing?"

"I guess that went away with the magic. We don't really know for sure. We haven't really tried anything since we got back." Becky said.

"And what about you Akida?"

Akida shrugged.

As the conversations about magic and the worlds and the battle of good and evil continued on, Todd moved toward the front door. The main door was open, leaving the screen door that lead to the porch shut.

"Why would they show them Neverland?" an angered yet hushed voice said. "Their fathers are going to kill us the second we show our faces."

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" another hushed voice said.

Todd poked his head around the door to find two boys crouching down behind the screen door. The boy with the silver hair noticed Todd first, and motioned to the boy with blonde hair to stop talking. The grey-eyed boy silenced and half-smiled at Todd. The boy with silver hair tried to tell Todd not to say anything about them being there, but Todd turned back to everyone and spoke.

"Sashi, are these your friends from when you went away?" he asked loudly.

Sashi turned to Todd, confused. Brad took his arm Sashi and walked over to the door. He stared at what was behind the door for a moment, then opened the screen door and dragged the two boys into the living room by the backs of their shirts.

Riku and Dogan stumbled into the room, not bothering to struggle against Sashi's father.

"Ah, yes." Becky said, dumbfounded as to what to say next.

Sashi nodded, trying to act serious.

"Dad, this is Riku and Dogan." She said.

Brad looked down at the boys. They simply tried to smile back up at the man, although they were deathly afraid of what he was going to do to them. A long pause followed until the silence was finally by Becky's cheerful voice.

"Can we keep them?"

AN: Yeah, that's it. The end. Thanks to all who made it here. And now, I bid thee farewell. Trapped.


End file.
